Prince Nuada's Tau Empire: Eldar Allies

[Prince Nuada]

Tau'va Commander!

Since the advent of 6th Edition I have wanted to incorporate some suitably interesting "xenos" allies as a new client species of the Empire and I can't think of anything more suitable than Eldar.
But I wanted to take it one step further and aesthetically move away from the typical 40K Craftworld Eldar, choosing something wholly unique whilst not diverging too far from the futuristic aesthetics of the Tau Empire.

What I'm looking for are units which fulfil the following criteria:
•Psychic power to combat the enemy &/or to enhance my own troops
•Close combat specialists to counter enemy break-through
•Mobility to keep up with my mechanised Tau and to respond to threats quickly
•Units which gel with my own in terms of function and army synergy

So let's briefly run over the more attractive entries in the new Eldar codex and address how they synchronise with the Tau.
For simplicity sake I will not cover any special characters.


HQ

Autarch
First up is the Autarch. What this guy has going for him is that you can kit him out with goodies and throw him in a melee unit (maybe Striking Scorpions) and let him loose to do his thing. A good choice, but may run into troubles if his unit gets tar-pitted or locked in close combat with a powerful dedicated close combat unit.

Farseer
Next is what I think is the most attractive HQ in the codex - the Farseer. This guy brings a lot to the table all by himself. His most obvious utility is his ability to counter enemy psychic powers and to to mess with the enemy big time. Divination and Telepathy are both very useful, as are the Runes of Fate. Really, you can't go wrong.

Spiritseer
This guy! This guy is another good option simply because he unlocks Wraithguard and Wraithblades as Troops. Scoring Troops! Which means that you can essentially take THREE Elites choices! On his own he is essentially a Lv.2 Warlock with an upgraded Witchblade. Psychic powers include Telepathy (which is not bad) and the Warlock's Battle Runes. This means that unlike the Farseer who is free to run around and do his thing, this guy is best employed within a unit. The ace up the Spiritseer's sleeve is of course his Spirit Mark ability which I like to think of as a Markerlight just for Wraith constructs.

Warlock Council
The Warlock Council is off limits as it is only available to a primary detachment. This means no Warlock Bodyguard for a Farseer or unit Warlocks for Guardian units.


TROOPS

Dire Avengers
I like to think of these as Eldar Firewarriors. With their Battle Focus and Fleet abilities these guys can run and shoot which increases their range from 18" to 20-30" depending on re-rolls. Better still, they can fire and retreat (run) and they have Counter Attack so they work well defensively. To top it off they have plasma grenades so can be thrown into melee if they need to.

Guardian Defenders & Storm Guardians
I won't be considering either of these units. I know some people recommend large units of Guardians as objective campers but to be honest that's what Kroot are for.

Windrider Jetbike Squad
These guys are fast! Not a bad choice for extra speedy objective grabbing and similar shenanigans but hampered by the inability to take a Warlock. Might be a useful unit to place a Farseer.

Rangers
I really like Rangers but to be honest I can't find a place for them in the Tau army. We have our own snipers and 30" firepower a-plenty. Still not a bad option though if you want to go that way.


DEDICATED TRANSPORT

Wave Serpent
This vehicle went from broken to awesome. I like to think of it as a fast Devilfish with less access points but better protection and firepower. These are important if you want your allies to keep up with your cadre and be able to rapidly deploy, redeploy –especially assault units!


ELITES

Howling Banshees
I want to like Howling Banshees but there is just too much going against them. They really can't live without a dedicated transport but they can't assault after dismounting and their armour is weak for the amount of firepower they will attract. Power swords really aren't the duck's nuts anymore and they don't have the added protection of an invulnerable save to survive very long using power axes. These may be fixed in some distant FAQ but for now they are too easily out-classed by every other Elites choice.

Striking Scorpions
If you want to sneak your stealthy armoured assault infantry up alongside your Kroot then Striking Scorpions are for you. In the top three of best melee units in the codex, Scorpions have the strength and durability to fight all-commers. I like to think of them as assault Stealth Suits without the high mobility.

Fire Dragons
As good as these guys are I won't be considering them and here's why: 1) we have plenty of other sources of melta, 2) the Elites slot really needs to be filled with a dedicated melee unit and these guys ain't it and 3) the horribly expensive.

Harlequins
I have one thing in mind when I think of Harlequins – NINJAS!
Very fluffy fit with Tau. Give them their rending Harlequin's Kisses and go nuts! Another in the top trio of melee, Harlequins don't need a dedicated transport and in my mind are on an equal playing field with Striking Scorpions.

Wraithguard
Rock hard automatons with guns which will blast you back to when the Chaos Gods were peering through at reality going "hello, what's this?". Probably the best armament for these guys are D-Scythes (distortion flamers which will rip terminators a new one), but in truth I much prefer their cousins…

Wraithblades
Rock hard automatons which chop you to pieces. Twin blades for hordes, axes and shields for heavies. Whatever. Love 'em.


FAST ATTACK

Swooping Hawks
I am always unimpressed with these guys. Their guns are essentially slightly better lasguns and the most they do is flap around and grenade tanks. I know they have other tricks up their sleeves but I remain unimpressed.

Warp Spiders
There's been a lot of buzz about these guys for a while now and it's not hard to see why. With Battle Focus, Fleet and Warp Jump Generators they are the kings of mobility. I like to think of them as Eldar Battlesuits. Me likes!

Shining Spears
Not a bad unit, useful if you want more melee support, but in my opinion if they have to compare with other choices in the Fast Attack slot they're going to loose.

Crimson Hunter
I like this. This is nice. If I was at a Ferrari dealership I would expect to see something like this. Take one of these if you want to own the skies!

Vyper Squadron
The Vyper has had its day and we already have Piranhas.

Hemlock Wraithfighter
I see where they were going with this but I just can't justify using it in a Tau army.


HEAVY SUPPORT

Dark Reapers
Ok, look. This is where it's at. If you want long range dakka to cram down the throats of your Marines enemies, these boys are for you. I like to think of them as Eldar Broadsides come Devastators. The bane of marines and vehicles and useful for long-range pinning.

Vaul's Wrath Support Battery
I can easily see better options for this slot so I'm not even going to go there with this option.

Fire Prism
Pretty much a faster cross between an Ion Hammerhead and a Railgun Hammerhead. If you want another tank go for it.

Night Spinner
An artillery tank. Very good against hordes (Tyranids we're looking at you), very much a good option as we don't have a lot of artillery.

Falcon
Another vehicle which has had its day. Outclassed by both the Wave Serpent (in terms of transport capacity and protection) and the Fire Prism (in terms of firepower).

War Walker Squadron
I can see why Eldar players might use these but I don't think Tau really need them.

Wraith Lord
Whilst not an entirely bad choice, the Wraith Lord does lack mobility and its points are probably better invested elsewhere.

Wraith Knight
Horrendously expensive!! And purely based on that I'm not even going to go there.


And there we have it. That's my summary of the codex units.
Based on this, I consider the following to be my primary options:

Farseer (jet bike, Mantle of the Laughing God, The Pheonix Gem)
OR
Wraithseer (Uldanorethi Long Rifle)


10 Dire Avengers (power sword & shimmer shield)
10 Dire Avengers (power sword & shimmer shield)
OR
6 Wraithblades (ghost swords)
6 Wraithblades (ghost axes & forceshields)

Wave Serpent (twin-linked scatter lasers)
Wave Serpent (twin-linked scatter lasers)


10 Harlequins (harlequin's kisses)


10 Warp Spiders (spinneret rifle)


10 Dark Reapers (eldar missile launcher w/ flakk missiles)

The Farseer is equipped to operate solo. He will zoom around casting psychic powers wherever needed and will be well protected. If he is caught, overwhelmed and killed the Pheonix Gem gives him a chance to take a few of the b*stards with him before returning a'la Necron-style!

The Spiritseer on the other hand is armed with a freaking 120" sniper rifle and will be seconded to a Firewarrior squad.

The Farseer and Dire Avenger build allows a degree of flexibility.
The Spiritseer build allows for some serious melee mash-up.
I like the idea of taking both and choosing depending on what kind of opponent I face.

[Prince Nuada]

And now on to the models. In my cyber travels I happened across some goodies from the [URL="http://privateerpress.com/warmachine"]Warmachine[/URL] range from our friends at [URL="http://privateerpress.com/"]Privateer Press[/URL].

Here's what I have in mind so far:

Farseer:


Farseer's Jetbike:

[Prince Nuada]

I am still looking for a suitable Spiritseer model.

Dire Avengers:

[Prince Nuada]

Wraithblades (swords):



Wraithblades (axes & shields):

[Prince Nuada]

Harlequins:

I will be replacing secondary blades with pistols.
Harlequin - Troupe Master:

I will be replacing the crossbow with a pistol.
Harlequin - Shadowseer:

[Prince Nuada]

Warp Spiders:

Warp Spiders - Death Spinners:

I am still looking for something to use as a Warp Jump Generator.

Dark Reapers:


I am still looking for something to use as a missile launcher.

[Prince Nuada]

Wave Serpent:

[Prince Nuada]

Wave Serpent - Turret:




And that's about it.
Thoughts anybody?

[jifel]

Analysis seems fairly accurate, and cool models, but how exactly do Dire Avengers have a 30" threat range?

[Prince Nuada]

Standard infantry move: 6"
Avenger Shuriken Catapult: 18"
Battle Focus (run & shoot) & Fleet (re-roll run), run: 1d6"
Roll a 6 and you have yourself 30".

Another tactic is to mimic Battlesuit tactics.
Move 6", fire 18", run back d6".
This gives you a 24" range.

The most important thing to bear in mind with Battle Focus is that it is purely for shooting, which means that you cannot assault. This is ok though, because Dire Avengers are optimally defensive anyway. So maneuver, shoot, maneuver. Rinse and repeat and if the enemy charges you counter-attack.