Eldar Tactica

[Dave Mcturk]

On a separate thread I have decided to revisit the Banshee yet again. I was thinking, the assault I won against the Chaos Lord was a little lucky in that he failed one of his 4+ invulnerable saves. Had he not I would have been toast. With all his upgrades he would have had the fleshbane rule on a power fist with re-rolls to hit.

I should have declined the challenge and let the rest of the girls charge in. They still had the banshee mask and would have had 18 attacks. I rolled it out a couple of times and on average this lead to 5 wounds which was almost always going to lead to 2 fails.

Also if I give the Exarch a glaive and Shield of Grace, she could tie up an enemy character for a turn or two with a reasonable chance of inflicting wounds, 3+ inv' & S5 AP2 attacks.

Of course the primary issue remains, how to get into assault. Ridiculously they are slowed by rough terrain, and only strike at I1 if assaulting through cover or rough terrain. Unlike their Scorpion counter parts, though they too will struggle to actually assault.

DE Allies ? stick 5 in a venom or 10 in a raider ? - you do need a support unit if the target is in cover though - mb some cheap quins, or even scorpz. [ to take casualties so banshees can get in]

on a design note - how crazy is it that they get a 3" run bonus - but not on the charge !
and the no grenades issue is so easy to resolve - just put a bit extra on the mask "when a model wearing a banshee mask charges into close combat it ALWAYS strikes at I10" ...

im going to roll my next eldar game with a 'quin-suprise' - just for a giggle. two sets of quins with a mounted farseer per unit. not sure if i shopuld run them on foot or pinch some raiders for mobility! might stick two de units in the army anyway just for the option!

[The_Duke_of_Swellington]

If you're thinking about an assault unit for Eldar, why not Shining Spears? Great movement, solid shooting, and an absolute brutal first round of assault (give the Exarch Hit & Run and you'll ONLY have first round assaults...) Plus, jink & armor save makes them ridiculously survivable as they move up the field.

[Defenestratus]

If you're thinking about an assault unit for Eldar, why not Shining Spears? Great movement, solid shooting, and an absolute brutal first round of assault (give the Exarch Hit & Run and you'll ONLY have first round assaults...) Plus, jink & armor save makes them ridiculously survivable as they move up the field.

The problem I've had with spears is that they get expensive to take in squads large enough to withstand any kind of punishment. You lose one shining spear and it hurts where as you could lose two, three even four scorpions out of a max squad and you're still pretty much ok.

[The_Duke_of_Swellington]

You lose one shining spear and it hurts where as you could lose two, three even four scorpions out of a max squad and you're still pretty much ok.

Fair enough. I've only really every used them in a single squad of 3-5 to be a bother in the midfield or outlank into the opponent's DZ. Small enough, and they get ignored until they blow up something pricey. I find they usually make back their points, but not much more than that.

[Dave Mcturk]

Fair enough. I've only really every used them in a single squad of 3-5 to be a bother in the midfield or outlank into the opponent's DZ. Small enough, and they get ignored until they blow up something pricey. I find they usually make back their points, but not much more than that.

love my shining spears. like to run two or three squads of 8. hoping to keep the exarch alive long enough to use hit and run ! - why they dont all have hit and run like warp spiderz - - no idea ? ; the big problem with spears is they are shocking against almost anything that manages to charge them and as a fairly points heavy unit they can get 'chased' across the board if you are unlucky. also they need the 'right' terrain to make use of skilled rider jink saves or they never get to 'shoot' and ONE ST 6 shot - even with lance at a measly 6" is no good against skimmers [most skimmers get a 3+ save - so you need six spears in range to get even one hit ] [against DE youre better off with GJB !] and once again like banshees they have no grenades and a 'threatened' enemy unit just hides in cover and makes it difficult to risk a charge. [oh look spears within 20" - lets just move to the nearest cover and make them charge us!]

[Dave Mcturk]

been working out a way to protect spears - and whilst not perfect has been reasonably successful.

bang them behind a two lines of guardian units at 2" spacing but only 1 deep - front unit takes Illic for a 4+ - back unit hopefully gets conceal for a 3+ - then spears go from behind to attack positions. stops ppl charging them with 'sprawn' / DE whyches etc.

the only downside im noticing is that spears are still vulnerable to counter attack [cant have everything] and actually are worse off if they 'succeed' and then cannot hit and run ! they still dont like termi-bobs ! [or wraith]

[Da Gargoyle]

Dave -

and the no grenades issue is so easy to resolve - just put a bit extra on the mask "when a model wearing a banshee mask charges into close combat it ALWAYS strikes at I10" ...

How does that one work? The new rules for Banshee masks are a -5 modifier to a minimum of 1 on the enemy initiative. Which stops him/her from hitting first. But there is no bonus to your own assault and without plasma grenades you can't assault through rough terrain and strike at normal initiative. At least that is how I have read it, am I missing something?

[Dave Mcturk]

Dave - How does that one work? The new rules for Banshee masks are a -5 modifier to a minimum of 1 on the enemy initiative. Which stops him/her from hitting first. But there is no bonus to your own assault and without plasma grenades you can't assault through rough terrain and strike at normal initiative. At least that is how I have read it, am I missing something?

its been so well playtested through two generation of codex and three sets of rules !

no it doesnt work.

banshees fight at I1 [typically joint I] if attacking into or through cover.

which is why the mask should say 'charging banshees always attack at I10'

i saw a great cure for quins on another site - make their 'kiss weapon' fleshbane and mono-filament - thats a great mod. and would justify their 22pt cost and their flimsy 5++.

[Da Gargoyle]

Just on another point, did anyone read the editorial, Assualt is not dead? I think the guy missed the point. I think most gamers like the idea of getting in for a punch up but but these days there are limited opportunities to do it. Eldar options have been toned down so that turn 3 is the most likely turn to launch an assault with specialist troops. The fast attack units like spiders & hawks are not built for assault and the vehicles now impede the process rather than assist it. None of the options listed in the editorial make assault any better for Eldar. Now I use Scorpions or Storm Guardians as assault teams with Jet bikes in a pinch. If they can whittle away a squad like marines in shooting then I would assault to mop up afterward. But a lot of my force is now bent on shooting and movement.

[Dave Mcturk]

Just on another point, did anyone read the editorial, Assualt is not dead? I think the guy missed the point. I think most gamers like the idea of getting in for a punch up but but these days there are limited opportunities to do it. Eldar options have been toned down so that turn 3 is the most likely turn to launch an assault with specialist troops. The fast attack units like spiders & hawks are not built for assault and the vehicles now impede the process rather than assist it. None of the options listed in the editorial make assault any better for Eldar. Now I use Scorpions or Storm Guardians as assault teams with Jet bikes in a pinch. If they can whittle away a squad like marines in shooting then I would assault to mop up afterward. But a lot of my force is now bent on shooting and movement.

spearlocks with a phoenix lord [i like fuegan] but everyone is different - does come in over 600pts though !