Jetbikes >> Dire Avengers
Same average hits per point.
t4 vs t3
3+ vs 4+
Eldar Jetbike vs Foot
12" range vs 18" range
ShuriCannon upgrades vs Exarch
Kabalite Warriors
Wyches
Wracks
Hellions
Guardians/Storm Guardians
Windrider Jetbikes
Dire Avengers
Rangers/Pathfinders
Wraithguard
Wraithblades
Jetbikes >> Dire Avengers
Same average hits per point.
t4 vs t3
3+ vs 4+
Eldar Jetbike vs Foot
12" range vs 18" range
ShuriCannon upgrades vs Exarch
Corsairs in Jetpacks (take 10, with 2 missile launchers and 2 fusionguns)
Wraithguard... oh gods wraithguard. an ap2 flamer template that comes out of a wave serpent? Dire Avengers are a cost effective means of getting decent troops, and bikes are still nippy and irritating, but a T6 model with an ap2 flamer thats ID on a 6 to wound, and has the potential to get a 2+ rerollable save (from protect and fortune).
Seems like I touched a nerve with how strong and/or combative your response is. And I accept that you have your opinion and I have mine, however mine is backed up by years of lore. Read the new Paths of [Insert whatever DA or E warrior name]. The author of the Path of the Renegade even spells it out at one point, saying "allies of convenience." This, combined with conversations I've had at Game Days, leaves me to believe that there are still many people that aren't happy with the Eldar and Dark Eldar being battle brothers.
By all means, please continue to enjoy your cavalcade of nightmares. Just know that I will powerlessly squint the evil stink eye at in from the corner of the room and grumble just loud enough to be ignored.
http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?52423-The-Blood-Pact-Chaos-Homebrew-Supplement&p=472214&viewfull=1#post472214
Not a nerve regarding the Eldar particularly. I just love the allies rules, because they're fun and fluffy, and I don't play tournaments, so have a lot of fun with them.
Also, I really, REALLY despise the whole fantasy trope that says "race X always behaves in this way"; it's lazy thinking, and bears little resemblance to how societies work in the real world. If I was to make a blanket statement along the lines of "All Americans support the right to...", I guarantee we'd get a massive discussion about how inaccurate that statement was on a state-by-state basis, and that's just once COUNTRY I'm talking about. The Eldar have multiple WORLDS; are we to believe this ancient, subtle, and complex race are all universally opposed to another faction based entirely upon arbitrary delineations? Especially given that Eldar have always been shown to believe that the life of an Eldar is universally worth more than the life of any other sentient being?
I just think it sells the Eldar short.
Yeah, there's plenty of reason for the two factions to hate each other, and lots of stories to back it up. However, if you assume Battle Brothers means 'shared strategy, tactics, and cultural values that enable enhanced co-operation" rather than "bestest best buds forever", it makes a lot more sense - just because the Eldar and Dark Eldar work together perfectly doesn't mean they don't hate each other - it's more a testament to how sophisticated they are as a race that they can function with such perfect fluidity even when they actively despise each other.
Especially if you consider that the Farseer has already seen the end of the campaign and knows that if she co-operates perfectly with her hated enemies, that Archon who's been giving her such trouble? He dies at the end.
For his part, the Archon knows that if he greases enough palms and plays it just right, he can turn the Farseer's own men against her through careful politicking and gameplay.
So, they work together like a well-oiled team, every part in perfect synergy, both plotting the absolute destruction of the other all the while.
The Eldar? They aren't the Imperium; they do things differently.
AUT TACE AUT LOQUERE MELIORA SILENTIO
But you can hide them in reserve or easely behind terrain.
They are more expensive but if you take the same amount of points, for example 221 (17 Dire Avengers vs 13 Jetbikes). On average you will hit 11.5 shots on average with both. Jetbikes are twinlinked. And you could argue that jetbikes have better range due to 12" ignore intervening cover move on top of 12" gun range.
If you count in the power of the serpent, than 5 Dire Avengers win it all by far. But that's cheating. :P
Anyway, i love both Dire Avengers and Jetbikes. They are hard to compare anyway, since they are usually used for completely different things.
Nothing in 40k beats 51 points eldar jetbike late game objective taking / contesting. And only few things compare to a 5 DA squad inside a scatter-holo-Serpent in sheer firepower, survivability and possibility to score an objective.
We're getting into the definition of what a "battle brother" type alliance means now? I think we'll just stop this train wreck here. We can talk about it in another thread. Sorry for derailing this one as much as I did.
http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?52423-The-Blood-Pact-Chaos-Homebrew-Supplement&p=472214&viewfull=1#post472214
I like to think of Eldar and Dark Eldar along the lines of Catholic vs Protestant, Sunni vs Shi'ite, (I like the mention of Democrat vs Republican). More than happy to war and despise and kill each other for being heretics and the scum of the earth, but boy howdy if some foreign infidel sticks their nose into their business--there are bonds of solidarity underlying the rancor.
More on topic I'd say GJBs by a mile. They're super-shooty, tough, and very fast. I personally use Dire Avengers since I play Biel-tan, and while they're not as good as the GJBs I think they're still pretty good.
Last edited by Archon Charybdis; 12-08-2013 at 10:15 PM.
Each unit has its purpose. Mostly Dire Avengers and Jetbikes, but regular Guardians and even Rangers are potentially useful. Just not Storm Guardians.
I am the Hammer. I am the right hand of my Emperor. I am the tip of His spear, I am the gauntlet about His fist. I am the woes of daemonkind. I am the Hammer.