40k Eldar Strategy: In Defence of War Walkers

The Eldar Army list has the most varied, unique and (arguably) most powerful heavy support of any army save the Imperial Guard.

These are their choices.

Falcons (duh): The fastest, most reliable transport in the game, belonging to the army that has the best assault squads. And it has 3 big guns on it to boot.
Wraithlord: WS4 BS4 S10 T8 I4 W3 3+. Option to carry two Eldar heavy weapons. 'nuff said.
Fire Prism: Finally got their due in the new book. 115 point Predator, Eldar style (it flies). Provides S9 anti-tank, AP4 anti-infantry AND AP3/AP2 anti-MEQ.
D-Cannons/Support Weapons: They're freaking D-Cannons. Artillery rules keep them alive.

Following the big guns come Dark Reapers and War Walkers. Dark Reapers tend to get respect (cause they're kick ass) and War Walkers tend not to. There are reasons for this, the price ($$) per model being one of them. Much talk is had of guiding batteries of S6 shooting blah blah, I don't want to hear it. You shouldn't have to toss in a 100+ point HQ selection to make a unit viable.

I just want to mention: one mistake I had been making myself is that unlike the Wraithlord, if a War Walker carries two of the same weapon it does not count as twin-linked. It counts as having two weapons.

Imperial Guard Sentinels are the obvious comparison. They are both AV10 Walkers, they both get the Scouts rule and they are both BS3. Sentinels, unfortunately -- are a rip. Their only saving grace being the fact that they take up a Fast Attack selection in the Guard/LatD armies, with the bevy of strong Heavy Support choices available. War Walkers are no longer open topped, unlike Sentinels.

Sentinel w/ Armoured Crew Compartment and 1x Multilaser: 60 pts.
War Walker w/ 2x Scatter Laser: 60 pts.

'nuff said. War Walker: 1, Other Stuff: 0. Imperial Guard pay a premium for their Heavy Weapons, but the War Walker is still a great deal points wise. It even gets I4 and an extra attack. w00t.

Within the Eldar list, the closest comparisons are Dark Reapers, Vypers and Wraithlords. We can also include the Fire Prism, assuming it is shooting once. Hand-waving I'm going to consider the Fire Prism one shot at S9 to be equivalent.

Dark Reapers w/ Missile Launcher and Fast Shot (4 models): 182 pts. (2 shots @ BS5)
3x Vypers w/ Missile Launchers: 195 pts. (3 shots @ BS3)
Wraithlord w/ Missile Launcher and Bright Lance: 155 pts. (2 shots at BS4)
Fire Prism w/ Prism Cannon: 115 pts. (1 shot at BS4)
3x War Walkers w/ 2x Missile Launchers: 210 pts. (6 shots @ BS3)

Some simple math. Hits/point, normalized by x100:
Dark Reapers: 0.916
Vypers: 0.769
Wraithlord: 0.860
Fire Prism: 0.580 to 0.800 (hand-waving)
War Walkers: 1.429

War Walkers: 2, Other Stuff: 0.

Anti-infantry.
Dark Reapers (4 models): 140 pts. (8 S5 shots @ BS4)
2x Vypers w/ 2x Shuriken Cannons: 120 pts. (12 S6 shots @ BS3)
Fire Prism w/ Prism Cannon: 115 pts. (6 S5 shots at BS4) (pie plate == 6 models, hand-waving)
2x War Walkers w/ 2x Scatter Laser: 120 pts. (16 S6 shots @ BS3)

Math. Hits/point, normalized by x100. This counts S5 and S6 as equal:
Dark Reapers: 3.810 (AP3)
Vypers: 5.000 (AP5)
Fire Prism: 3.478 (AP4)
War Walkers: 6.667 (AP6)

Go War Walkers. Fire Prism does better if you can get more models under the template, and shines against 4+.

War Walkers: 3, Other Stuff: 0.

Anti-MEQ.
Dark Reapers (4 models): 140 pts. (8 S5 shots @ BS4)
2x Vypers w/ Star Cannon and Shuriken Cannon (counts as one additional shot): 160 pts. (6 S6 shots @ BS3)
Two Fire Prisms w/ Prism Cannon: 230 pts. (6 S6 shots at TL BS4) (pie plate == 6 models, hand-waving)
2x War Walkers w/ 2x Star Cannon: 160 pts. (8 S6 shots @ BS3)

Dark Reapers: 3.810 (S5)
Vypers: 1.875 (S6)
Fire Prism: 2.319 (S6)
War Walkers: 2.500 (S6)

Ouch. Reapers 4TW. Note that if you take into account cover saves you're better off or about the same with Scatter Lasers over Star Cannons, at least against 3+. Terminators are another story. Starcannons might be worth it against Terminators but I prefer to use our old friend the Shuriken Catapult. So as it stands call it

War Walkers: 3, Other Stuff: 1.

So War Walkers have their uses, and could be considered a valid use of a Heavy Support slot. Before I got carried away, all I really wanted to show was that the Eldar Missile Launcher is a great weapons choice. Cheaper than both the Starcannon and Bright Lance, it comes with a longer range of 48". Great for keeping the more fragile War Walkers and Vypers out of harm's way. So for 140 points you get 4 Missile Launcher shots at BS3 with 48" range. The War Walkers have Scouts and get 3d6 for their difficult terrain roll, allowing for a chance at key flanking deployment. While understandable, it's a shame they aren't a Fast Attack choice giving them a later deployment. Very important for a flanking unit. In addition, the blast on the EML is AP4, and even forces a pinning test. The Scatter Laser battery also makes a very viable choice, coming in at 120 or 180 points.

Personally, I'd probably just take Reapers and Fire Prisms. I have the models, for one. I think they're fun, for another. Dark Reapers really put the hurt on MEQ, and Fire Prisms have very unique versatility (at the cost of two Heavy Support selections). War Walkers are a good fit in a two Falcon Army, giving them some serious anti-armour fire support they could be missing.

And yes, you can even combine them with Guide. XD

40k List Design: Eldar Autarchs

I was introduced to 40k during third edition and my first army was Eldar. Their HQ choices were of course Farseers and the Avatar. You know what Space Marines get? They get Chaplains. They get Librarians. Third ed Chaplains terrorized the Eldar. Wearing a jump pack they could sweeping advance 3d6" for an average of over 10". Wraithlords notwithstanding, if you had two in the same combat there was a good chance at least one would sweeping advance over 12". With a 2+ save, 100 attacks on the charge and a base movement of 12" (flying over terrain) they would rampage across the entire battlefield raping and pillaging as they went. Oh yeah, and don't forget there's the rest of the army behind them cheering them on maybe taking a pot shot with a lascannon and seizing objectives.

Facing such insurmountable odds, Eldar Generals were faced with three options
1) "What is this shit?"
2) "Who wants to buy my models?"
3) "Why don't I get anything like that?"

With the release of Epic in I-dunno-who-cares maybe 2003 the Eldar army got a new HQ option, the 'Autarch'. With a new Codex release rumoured for 'sometime soon' we now we had a new option

4) "Fuck that Space Marine cheese shi-ite wait till you see what the Autarch will do, with Swooping Hawk wings and a Mandiblaster and a Jet Bike and S4/T4/2+/4++ and a Web of Skulls and a Fire Pike and Defend and War Shout and and and ...."

So 2005/2006 comes around and the codices get released. Space Marine Chaplains (which weren't powerful enough already) now got their attacks boosted up to 200 on the charge (with re-rolls) and they make the whole army Ld10 and the opponent's army runs away within 24" (when they're not being pinned). Or something. Oh, they cancel all psychic powers too.

So what does the Autarch get? From the new Eldar Codex
"Autarchs are the supreme commanders of the Eldar warhost, and have a consummate understanding of the art of war."
"All right! Love that Sun Tzu shit! Fucking Chaplains! Die! Die! DIE!!!!"

"Held in high esteem by seer and soldier alike, each Autarch has mastered many paths over the centuries, including one or more of the facets of the Warrior path. At some point in their lives all Autarchs start developing a passion for command and strategy."
"Sure sure fluff is law etc etc."

"Autarchs believe that the true path to martial excellence lies not so much in the heat of melee, but rather in gaining a wider vision of the battle and directing the Eldar warhost on the most lethal and efficient way to victory."
"Melee! Fuck yeah! Let's do this thing! Wait a minute ..."

"This is the Path of Command, a burning obsession with truly understanding how each mission can be made part of a complex battle plan, and in turn each battle can be made part of a grand war plan. To guide them along this path, Autarchs draw their inspiration from the mythical leaders of the great Houses of old, such as Eldanesh Ulthanash and Bierellian."
"Bierellian? WTF!?!"

XD
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Everybody who's involved in the hobby knows Autarchs are S3 T3 and three attacks (they couldn't give them 4 attacks base, come on?), relegating them to the ranks of the "close combat support" HQ rather than the "close combat ass-munching" coveted by SM HQ's and 200+ point jump-pack-less Pheonix Lords.

As my brother likes to say, "they're just a big banshee". I haven't actually used them, but were I to do so I would give them a power weapon and a shuriken catapult and put them in with the Dire Avengers.

Points Breakdown
- Dire Avenger Shuriken Catapult: I'd say worth 5 points when combined with Blade Storm. Space Marines get Storm Bolters for 5 points, and they lose an attack for the privledge. Autarchs keep their Shuriken Pistol.
- +1 Reserve Roll: I'd say worth 15 points (with Hawks). Personally I think Escalation is just a hack to fix shitty rules altho I'm not a tournament player.
- ld 10: Say 10 points.
- Plasma and Haywire Grenades: Say < 5 points
- 4++: A Rosarius is 25 points. With T3 we're getting a steal here. Call it 15 points, since it's mandatory.
- Fleet of Foot: ???. Call it 0 points since it's in with the Avengers.

So that gets us down to 30/40 points. For 32 points we could have a couple banshees. All things considered the Autarch isn't a bad deal if you want a REALLY expensive Dire Avenger Squad, which is essentially what you're doing. Even if your opponent decides to shoot down Dire Avengers he's not effecting the Autarch much. The addition of the 4++ (and not making it optional grr) boosts their points by a little bit, making them a real jack-of-all-trades 'what do I do with this thing' character. You want to keep it away from power firsts, period and it won't win a duel with an HQ. It will however help the squad win combat over the HQ and its squad.

I could see myself going heavy on Troops and taking 2/3 Guardian squads and 2 Dire Avenger Squads in a refused flank formation (like a spear head). In that case the Autarch would be more useful, since if one squad got shot to pieces he could switch over to the other squad. The other thing the Autarch has going for it is at ~70 points cheaper than an Avatar maybe the HQ you want really IS just a big banshee.

The Avatar's fearless ability makes the Ld10 pretty irrevelent. But in a non-mech/purely infantry list the Autarch could be preferred especially while taking both Hawks and deep-striking Warp Spiders. Or (gods above) TWO squads of Hawks *drools*.

As far as other Wargear is concerned, I don't really see the point. Wings could be nice just for some lategame re-positioning. He's a support character not an ass-muncher. I do like the 'Shining Spears Autarch' joining a squad of 3/4 Spears including Exarch. That squad is how we finally get our hands on an ass-munching HQ. 3d6" fall back w/ Hit&Run and we can finally dance across the table Chaplain-style.

40k Eldar Strategy: No Battle Plan Survives First Contact With the Enemy

"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy."
"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved."
- Sun Tzu

I've been playing Warhammer 40,000 for a number of years now. I know, I'm too old for pleasant diversions that keep my mind sharp. Somewhere along the line I went from 'what's an organizational chart again' to 'beardy veteran of death and glory'. I have a number of tactical, statistical and design concepts I want to discuss: first I will discuss my own method for winning Eldar army list design, as well as how and why it works. Presumably this is written for people who are involved in the hobby.

Fluff-wise -- and in theory -- the Eldar list is supposed to be the most tactical list, behind the Tau. They certainly have the most specialized units (not to mention imo varied and fun) of any other army. Another Sun Tzu maxim, their biggest strength is their ability to concentrate firepower and hit hard where it is needed. According to the fluff, their strength is their ability to conduct hit and run raids and overcome their opponent with their advanced technology and fearless arrogance.

In practice their concentration of firepower comes in four forms: mobile heavy weapons and fast vehicles; devastating assault squads, Eldar Farseers and the not-so-humble shuriken catapult. The idea is that if you're playing a 2000 points game you want to set it up so say 650 of your own points (say guardians or a tricked out Falcon) are in his face taking hits while the rest of your army is positioned to completely take out 500 of his points. After the smoke settles he should be down say 800 points and you're down maybe 350 points. After that you should hopefully pull off a victory. Note that because Eldar are designed to be _good_ at this, they have other weaknesses and victory is by no means certain.

The problem is of course -- your opponent gets to shoot back. Space Marine HQ are 150 to 200 points of single base concentrated firepower goodness. Any experienced Eldar (or Tau) player has a 'what is this shit' story as one jump-pack-wearing, master-crafted-weapon-wielding 25 mm base blew a massive gaping hole in their battle line. We don't get that. It might sound obvious, but a winning Eldar general (Autarch?) has to avoid turning his army into an 'upside down pyramid' relying on one favorite unit.

Here's a list I used against an opponent for a pair of games last time he was in town.

Avatar 155

Scorpions 212
Wraithguard 140
Harlequins + Falcon 335

2x Guardians 159 and 165
Dire Avengers 177
Pathfinders 120

2x Vyper (EML) 65 each
Swooping Hawks 173

2x Fire Prism 115 each

I included the point costs, because with the exception of the Harlequins and the Falcon everything is ~150 to 200 points. Your opponent can only shoot so much in one turn and if one squad is removed from play the rest of the army is positioned. The only expensive unit is the most resilient tank in the game. And every shot at a Falcon is one less shot at the Avatar making the army fearless or those beautiful 2006 Codex Fire Prisms with their AP3 pie plate. Or even the Wraithguard, which always have their uses in a balanced list even if they rarely get their points back.

According to the fluff, Eldar units are specialized, and they are an aggressive race. This is true at least. Each unit has a purpose and it needs to live up to it. Guardians have an assault weapon for a reason. Get them stuck in. They might get wiped out 2 turns later but the opposing squad was denied the charge. They were going to attack anyway.

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The important thing to notice here is that every unit has its job and your enemy gets to attack too. 40k isn't chess. It's a skirmishing game where movement is very free flowing and there are lots of long range weapons that can take your squads out from a distance. 'Guardians suck!'? They're not the greatest. Lacking ATSKNF they have a tendency to get cut down in close combat for one. Embolden or an Avatar can mitigate this. But their job is to get stuck in combat and shoot something with shuriken catapults. It's not a question of whether a unit 'gets its points back' -- altho that's a good measuring stick -- victory goes to the player who positions and plays his units such that the army as a whole is guaranteed victory.