Welcome back everyone! Its time for part 2 of my review of the new Codex: Eldar Craftworlds. This part will go over the Troops and Elites sections of the codex.
Guardian Defenders
As extinction overshadows the Eldar, it is tragic that those who might propagate their race are forced to take up arms. Guardians are citizen warriors driven by the simple desire to survive and feulled by the fury of a regal people denied their birthright. In the glorious panoply of their world-ships, the Guardians fan out in support of the craftworld's specialist troops, heavy weapons platforms smoothly traversing the corpse-dotted wastes in their wake. Foes that come too close do not live long to regret it, for though Guardians are not as skilled as their Aspect Warrior brethren, the colume of flesh-ripping shuriken they lay down can surpass even that of the Dire Avengers.
First up are the Guardians. These are a pretty good, cheap troop unit, which while they're fragile they can really put out a ton of firepower. They each carry a shuriken catapult (12" S 4 Ap 5 and any to wound roll of 6 is ap 2) and plasma grenades, and come with the standard Eldar Special Rules, Ancient doom (Hatred v.s Slaanesh, and -1 ld on fear tests against Slaanesh), Battle Focus (can shoot and run in the same turn) and Fleet. For every 10 models in the unit, they can take a heavy weapon platform, which is a heavy weapon fired by a guardian as if it were an assault weapon. They can also have a Warlock leader if you want a bit of psychic support, and with the Runes of Battle primaris power being Conceal, it's a pretty good option for getting your Guardians into range. Personally, I'm not a huge fan, as their weapons only being 12" is just too short of range to make an effective shooting unit, but some people really like them, so I guess its just preference. By no means a bad unit.
Storm Guardians
There are citizens in each craftworld that feel the flame of war kindle in their breast. Should necessity dictate it, these warriors-to-be are gathered into tight groups and sent to fight in support of the Aspect Warriors. Although they lack the protection afforded by Aspect armour, they fight with all the skill and grace of their kind, their elegant chainswords and blades sweeping into the foe, chopping through limbs and joints before their adversaries can retaliate. Where the enemy's warriors hide behind armoured hulls or hunker down in cover, this citizen militia will bring fusion guns and flamers to the fore, burning the foe into the open where the killing can begin in earnest.
Storm Guardians are an interesting choice, and while at first I thought they were sort of crap, I'm starting to think that maybe they're not so bad. Really, they're just a melee/special weapon unit that is sort of like a unit of Guardsmen with a better stat line. The unit starts at 8 models, which is sort of weird, but you can add up to 12 more, for a total of 20 models, which is kinda neat, as you can sort of drown people in numbers. You can also equip 2 models in the unit with either a Flamer or Fusion Gun, and also equip 2 models with Power Weapons. I like the idea of taking a couple of Fusion Guns and Power Axes and just seeing where that takes me. All this being said, these guys won't be winning many fights for you, so only throw them up against weedier units, or in support of your Aspect Warriors like Striking Scorpions or Howling Banshees.
Windriders
In battle, the jetbike riders of the Eldar operate as forward scouts and fast-response troops, speeding across the battlefield in a brightly coloured blur before unleashing tight fusillades of shuriken. At the last moment before he hurtles into the enemy line, the Windrider fires, shredding his awed foes with the paired shuriken catapults that allow the jetbike its impressive rate of fire. With a twist of the handlebars, the pilot veers away to safety, turning his steed for another pass. It is considered a singular hnour for a Guardian to ride to war within the Windrider hosts, sun glinting from his jetbike cowling and air swirling in his wake.
Not only are Windriders (formerly known as Guardian Jetbikes) the best troop unit in this codex, I think I can make a strong argument that they're the best troop unit in the entire game. 51 points buys you a unit of 3 Eldar Jetbikes which move 12", can turbo-boost 36" and get an assault move of 2d6". That's a possible 60" of movement in a single turn. They also can each take a Scatter Laser or Shuriken Cannon, which turns your 3 man unit of incredibly fast moving troops into a crazy weapon platform too. I've been loving a unit of 3 with Scatter Lasers for a small unit footprint. You can move out from behind line of sight blocking terrain, fire, then jump back in with your assault move. In addition, if you take them as part of a Combined Arms Detatchment then they'll be objective secured as well. 10/10. Would use.
Rangers
Those that walk the winding Path of the Outcast are amongst the most cunning of all Eldar. By travelling the winding capillaries of the webway, loose groups of Rangers appear unbidden, emerging from strange portals that the enemy could pass close by and never notice. Clad in chameleoline cloaks that mimic their surroundings to such a degree that their wearers are rendered almost invisible, Rangers form an elite corps of snipers that typically shun the front line, choosing instead to alter the course of battle from afar. Picking the choicest targets from amongst the opposition's ranks, these expert marksmen can hit an enemy commander in the eye socket from extreme range.
Well, as much as I like Rangers, I'm sorry to report that they still are pretty lackluster. They come with all the rules that you would expect from a sniper, Move Through Cover, Infiltrate, and Shrouded, and of course the Ranger long rifle. The long rifle, as far as I can tell is just a regular sniper rifle, despite what the fluff may tell you. I was really hoping that they would bring back the rending on to hit rolls as well as to wound rolls that they used to have, even if it came with a points increase. As it is, they're ok objective campers, but I just find that they don't really deal any damage to speak of.
Dire Avengers
Those marked for death by these Aspect Warriors are not killed cleanly, though their demise is always spectacular, for the shuriken catapult is never more deadly than in the hands of the Dire Avengers. These warriors consider the hurling of the bladed disc the truest of Khaine's red arts; at war, they unleash them in great slicing hurricanes, delivering death by a thousand cuts in the time it takes a man to scream. Despite the grisly manner in which they visit destruction upon the foe, the Dire Avengers are considered the epitome of the noble warrior - an indication of just how pitiless the craftworlds can be when their anger is roused.
Dire Avengers are the last of the troops in Codex Eldar Craftworlds, and one of the better ones. They haven't gone up in points at all, and have all the same stuff as before, with a few differences. First off, they lose Counter-attack, but gained a rule called Defence Tactics. If a unit consisting entirely of models with this rule is assaulted, they can either fire their Overwatch at BS 2, or they can gain Counter-attack and Stubborn. Most of the time, I would choose the improved Overwatch most of the time, especially against anything T 4 or better. In addition, the Exarch gains Battle Fortune for free which grants a 4++. Lastly, all Exarchs in this codex gain an additional wound now, but their armour save is not 3+ across the board. Still, I think that's a good trade off, as the worst armour save an Aspect Warrior has is still a respectable 4+. Dire Avengers are probably the best all-around Troop choice, aside from Windriders, and they're relatively cheap for all the stuff you get out of the unit.
Howling Banshees
To hear the cry of the Banshee is to die. The piercing, psychosonic scream that precedes the assault of these bone-armoured warriors renders those who hear it all but helpless. These mind-destroying shockwaves buy the Howling Banshees time enough to strike, each Aspect Warrior taking a head or slitting a throat with a sweep of her glittering power sword. In their Aspect Shrines, the Banshees practise their lightening assaults each and every day, refining their techniques and acrobatic skills. To them, there is no greater pleasure than turning the poignant fury and despair of the Eldar race into a weapon, another tool in the arsenal of the craftworlds with which to destroy their foes.
Howling Banshees are the first Elites choice in the codex, and I'm please to say that they are actually fairly viable now. That is thanks mostly to their Banshee Masks, which cause Fear, and make the Banshees immune to being Overwatched. They also have gained the Acrobatic rule, which allows them to add 3" to its maximum run or charge move, as well as counting them as having assault grenades. They also got 2 points cheaper, and the Exarch got the War Shout rule, which forces models in combat with her to subtract 2 from their Ld. I think that these girls have gotten quite a bit better, but they still are one of the lesser units in the codex. While a unit of I 5 models with power swords is scary, they're still wounding a good half the units in the game on 5s, which is a little rough, especially considering they only 3 attacks each on the charge. The main thing that kills them for me though is the lack of assault transport in this codex. They really benefit from Dark Eldar or Harlequin allies, as they can get some access to open-topped transports. Even being one of the worse choices in this codex they are far from bad, and so I'd recommend trying them out.
Striking Scorpions
Sinister and unsettling even to their allies, the Aspect Warriors of the Striking Scorpions stalk their intended prey for hours, even days. Once they are in position they will wait with limitless patience for the foe to come within reach. In their minds they play the impending kill over and over, savoring a thousand different permutations. At a single word from their Exarch the Striking Scorpions suddenly burst from concealment. Chainswords whirring, mandiblasters spitting needles of white fire, the Aspect Warriors fall upon the prey. The emerald of the Striking Scorpions' armour is soon streaked red, the torn bodies of the foe falling in pieces to the ground in bloody sacrament to Khaine.
Striking Scorpions are the sneaky, heavy armoured counterpart to the Howling Banshees, and I think they're quite a bit better. Just like most things, they haven't changed a lot, just little bits and pieces. Firstly, Mandiblasters now auto-hit at initiative 10 and wound on a 4+, which is pretty decent. Secondly, They gained the Shadowstrike rule. If the unit infiltrates, it gets the Shrouded rule until it shoots (including overwatch) or fights in close combat. With Stealth, this means that in basically any cover they'll have a 2+ cover save at the beginning of the game, until you either shoot or fight. This rule will really help them get to combat. The Exarch also gets the Stalker rule, with grants him an extra attack in a challenge for each point of initiative higher he has than his opponent. As he is I 6, he'll almost always be getting at least 1 attack extra, so its a pretty great rule. If you equip him with a Scorpion's Claw, he'll have 6 attacks at S 6 I 6 plus his mandiblaster on the charge against an I 4 enemy. That's crazy. In my opinion, this is the go-to close combat unit in the codex (exluding HQ's and LoW)
Fire Dragons
Fire Dragon Aspect Warriors consider themselves destruction made manifest. Though short ranged, their fusion guns channel so much thermal energy into their targets that even the adamantium-plated rockcrete of a Sanctum-class bunker can be melted away like tallow. Destroying an enemy war machine is barely a challenge to these anti-armour specialists - those vehicles redoubtable enough to survive a volley of fusion gun fire are soon reduced to bubbling slag by discus-shaped melta bombs. Nowhere is safe from the white-hot rage of the Fire Dragon, for even the mightiest fortress affords scant protection.
Outside of Destroyer weapons, Fire Dragons are probably the most ridiculously reliable anti-armour in the game. While they aren't cheap, each one totes a Meltagun and meltabombs, plus they now get the Assured Destruction rule, which allows them to add 1 to their roll on the Vehicle Damage table. With Ap 1 weapons, this means that you're getting an explodes result on a 4+, or 3+ for an open-topped vehicle, meaning that destruction is pretty much as assured as possible. On top of that, the Exarch gained the Crack Shot rule, which allows him to re-roll one failed To Hit, To Wound or Armour Penetration result per turn. This makes him all but guaranteed to damage what he's shooting at. I've used these guys a couple of times, and I'm very happy with how they perform. They were pretty good before, and they're crazy good now. Definitely one of the overlooked winners of this codex.
Wraithguard
The ghost warriors known as Wraithguard move with the measured certainty of those who have known death, and now exist only to bring it to others. Those too slow to evade the approach of these long-limbed wraithbone constructs pay dearly for their complacency. These vengeful heroes of ages past bear long-barrelled wraithcannons and distortion scythes - weapons so fiendish no mortal could wield them - that tear temporary vortices in the fabric of reality. Those caught by their fell energies are sucked in, their bodies distorting like blood spiraling down a drain, to a hellish death in the otherworld of the Warp.
Alright everybody, here's the big deal of this codex. The thing that has so many people up in arms. The Wraithguard. They haven't changed in price at all since last edition, but have gained a pretty serious boost. All distort weapons are now Strength D. This means that for 160 points I can now take 5 T6 3+ save models with 12" strength D weapons. If you want, you can upgrade to the D-scythes for 10 points each, which turns their weapon into a flame template, but you subtract 1 from your result on the D table, meaning no 6s for you. So, how insane is this really? Well, I think people are making a bigger deal of it than it is. Firstly, your range is pretty short, meaning that you pretty much need either a Webway archon (allies), an infiltrate warlord trait, or a transport. Next, while T6 seems awesome at first, you have to remember that virtually every army out there has the means to pack S 6 or 7 guns with ap3 or better, meaning you still can't just toss them at things all willy-nilly. They will go down to plasma or melta guns pretty quickly, and will take 32-42 of your points with them. However, if you do get them in range... Well, lets just say that there is a good chance that whatever you shoot at will be deleted from the board. With the Wraithcannons you only need a single 6 to take out virtually any single thing in the game, whearas the D-scythes will waste most stuff through number of hits, even though you do no damage on a 1 or 2. Are they powerful? Yes, absolutely, especially if you build a list around them. Are they as game breaking as everyone says? We'll see, but I'm thinking no. What makes them a real threat is that you have so much other stuff in the codex that is amazing, that even if they get focused down before they can do anything, you'll have an extremely powerful force still at your fingertips and basically unharmed. If they don't, then you can feed them your D (yes, a penis joke. I'm not above those.)
Wraithblades
There are those of the Eldar race whose rage runs hot beyond the point of death. Denied the battle they craved in life, their birthright ripped away from them by the deeds of lesser mortals, these spirits are fuelled by the fires of wrath. These immortal killers bear weapons reminiscent of the blooded warrior, axes and swords so large they can cut down men in droves. They close upon their adversaries at a loping run, wraithbone bodies all but glowing with the need to wreak violence. Finally they slam home, their ghostswords taking heads from necks as ghostaxes split victims from shoulder to groin. Truly, the Wraithblades are the undying avengers of the craftworld's lost people.
Wraithblades are a weird choice to me, and while they got better, they still are sort of a let down. They're a couple points cheaper than a Wraithguard, and are basically a close combat version of them. They can use either a pair of Ghostswords which gives +1 strength and an extra attack for 2 ccw, or a Ghostaxe and Forceshield, which gives +2 strength, a 4++, but makes you unwieldly. Personally, I prefer the axe, as the invuln save and higher strength will allow you to go toe-to-toe with basically anything else in the game and possibly win. Their main problem to me, is that a Wraithblade only gets a single attack, and while they have Rage now, it still means that it'll be fairly easy to simply tarpit them. I think their main strength will be to use them in tandem with other assault units to help them pack a punch where needed, and the other unit (I'd use scorpions) can come bail them out if they get tied up.
Anyways, that's all for Part 2 of this codex review. I aim to get Part 3 up sometime next week, which will talk about the the Fast Attack, Heavy Support and Lord of War units. It's going to be a big one, so stick around!
No comments:
Post a Comment