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Imperial Armour 11: Part 2 New Eldar Units


With the Corsair List out of the way, let us take a look at the new Craftworld Eldar units. Overall I think Forgeworld did an amazing job here, both in rules and model design. They most certainly put some credence back in, "Their arrogance is only match by their firepower." With the things as they are I was starting to think the Eldar were not very arrogant at all. The major drawback is finding people that will let you use Imperial Armour though and tournaments that allow it are equally rare. That being said, how about we dive right in:




Shadow Spectres - Easily the best armed fast attack choice compared to other Eldar options, though not quite as mobile. This new unit of Aspect Warriors makes use of man-portable prism cannons called appropriately enough, Prism Rifles. They suffer from the usual range issues of Eldar weaponry, but pack a punch with a statline of 18" range, S6 AP3 Heavy 1 for a focused shot and 18" range, S4 AP5 Heavy 1, Blast for the diffused shot. The Heavy weapon aspect is a non-issue for these guys as they have Jetpacks and are therefore relentless. The Exarch has two options instead of the prism rifle. The Prism Blaster is a 18" S7 AP2 Heavy 2 variant of the standard prism rifle and the Haywire Launcher is a 36" range S3 AP3 Heavy 1 weapon that hits vehicles as a haywire grenade. The Haywire launcher is impressive for its range and ability to damage vehicles, but it is easily outclassed by the units main special ability, Ghostlight. Ghostlight like Fire Prism tanks themselves allows for the combination of the Prism beam, this lets the squad improve their capabilities by letting you do three main things. First, it allows the unit to draw line of sight from a single model and use the highest available Ballistic skill. Second, for every two models firing you get to add +6" to the range giving you a maximum range of 36". Lastly the strength of the weapon is increased by +1 for every two firing models. This is added to the best gun so if everyone has prism rifles it is 6+1 per two models, but if you give the exarch the prism blaster then the base strength is 7. Predictably you cannot use Ghostlight with the haywire launcher. Regardless of what is doing the firing the ghostlight has a base AP of 2 and is a Heavy 1, Blast weapon. The drawback though is that the unit only fires a single shot, though the tactical situations that determine which shot you fire seems pretty obvious, fly up pop the transport with ghostlight, then hit the squad with separate shots. As with all other Exarchs this Shadow Spectre Exarch can take to power options, first is Cynosure that lets you reroll to hit with the Ghostlight. Second is Withdraw, which gives the unit hit and run. As for defense the unit comes with Spectre holo-fields giving them a 5+ invuln save which increases to 4+ beyond 12". The unit also has acute senses which is of course something. In all, the unit is most impressive.

Irriltyh, Shadaw of Twilight - This is the Shadow Spectre Phoenix Lord and part of the focus on the narrative in the book. He is every bit a Phoenix lord and comes kitted out with the same abilities as a Shadow Spectre Exarch with better wargear. His weapon is the Spear of Starlight which is a 24" Range, S7, AP2 Heavy 3 weapon that can be used with Ghostlight. Unlike most Phoenix Lords, Irriltyh stands tall with Asurman because he also has an invulnerable save thanks to his Holo-suit. It works just like the holo-suits of his disciples. Unlike other Phoenix lords however he lacks that extra power that defines the tactics of his aspect like Stealth for Karandras and the Striking Scorpions or Furious Charge for Jain Zar and her Banshees.

Bel-Annath - This guy is a special character Farseer specific to the Doom of Mymeara campaign. I will detail him later. He has some cool tricks and modifies the force organizational chart so that is kind of nice, but as a named character his abilities are locked in place. He is described as a more warlike Farseer and it really shows in his abilities. Enough about him though, on to:

Warp Hunter - This tank is unchanged from the Corsair variant so refer to my last post for its info. It is a Heavy Support Choice for Craftworld Eldar as well.

Wraithseer - The mon'keigh space marines think they can get away with a Dreadnaught psyker. Now we have the Wraithseer. A bit pricey, but is a functioning HQ choice. The downside is you cannot have him alone as the HQ you will have to bring somebody else which probably should be a Farseer, but I find some appeal in taking the Avatar and really running an Elfzilla list (But then I remembered Dark Eldar so nevermind) The Wraithseer is every bit a Wraithlord and so much more. His WS is increased to 5 he has 4 wounds and can function as a spiritseer himself. Not just a spiritseer either, but a Greater Spiritseer! This not only allows him to guide other wraith constructs within 12" letting them ignore the Wraithsight rule, but it also makes the cover saves of units targeted by the Wraithseer or wraith-like units within 12" one point worse. The Wraithseer comes equipped with a Wraithspear which is essentially a wraithsword that gives the attacks +1 on the vehicle damage chart. The unit also has a wraithshield granting him a 5+ invulnerable save. To round out his equipment he can be given a shoulder mounted Bright Lance, Scatter Laser, Eldar Missile Launcher, Star Cannon, or D-Cannon. Although after the D-Cannon the unit gets really really expensive. He lacks the option for shuriken catapults or flamers however..... so sad.... not really. He comes standard with three psychic powers and the ability to use one per turn. These powers are used at the start of the Eldar turn and do not require line of sight. First, is foreboding which has a 18" range and forces the target unit to take a pinning test with -2 to their leadership. Next, is enliven, which grants a single Wraithlord or Wraithguard unit within 12" fleet for the turn. Finally, you have Deliverance which grants a Wraithlord or Wraithguard unit within 6" (Wraithseer included) Feel no Pain until the beginning of the Eldar player turn. I really like this guy, but he will get pretty expensive in the long run. Also the model looks pretty cool.

Wasp Assault Walker Squadron - The only difference between this version and the corsair version is the points cost which makes them cheaper for non-corsair armies. Also it is a Fast Attack choice which may be the reason for the discount in price.

Hornet Squadron - The same as those used by the Corsair Eldar, they are also a fast attack choice.

Lynx - As a rule I am unimpressed by Eldar superheavy tanks. Big gun mounted on a really big falcon chasis wow exciting. The Lynx however changes my opinion for almost the model alone. It has a cool alien look to it even while it is still a big gun attached to a now not so Falcon chasis. It is BS4 and armoured like a falcon. It has 2 structure points and comes with a Pulsar and a shuriken cannon. The Pulsar may be exchanged for a sonic lance at no points cost and the shuriken cannon can be upgraded to a scatter laser, starcannon, or brightlance. The model may also take star engines and/or vectored engines. This superheavy comes equipped with Eldar Titan Holofields and can become a flyer until the start of the next turn at the cost of being able to shoot. This ability will get the tank across the battlefield easily allowing it to continue it's destruction-fest. Lastly it has a Targeting Matrix Override which increases its save to 3+ against Crew Shaken and Weapon Destroyed results for the primary weapon.

Scorpion and Cobra - These appear to be the same as they have been in previous books, however the points cost may be different.

Vampire Raider and Vampire Hunter - Like the scorpion and the cobra these models appear to just have updated points costs.

Revenant Titan - Completely unchanged from its appearance in the Apocalypse book. Still flipping sweet, but still flipping expensive.

Phantom Titan - It is big, it is mean, and it costs more points than your standard 40k army. It is WS3 BS4 S10 and boasts the heaviest Eldar armour evar! Front and Sides have armour 13!! rear is armour 11. It is I3 and has 3 attacks base. This monstrosity has 8 structure points and is armed to the teeth. It comes standard with the Phantom titan missile launcher (a heavy 4 version of the standard Eldar missile launcher firing krak missiles) A Phantom Titan AA Launcher in an Anti-Aircraft mount which fires S7 AP3 missiles and is Heavy 4. Finally it has a Phantom Titan Star Cannon (a Heavy 4 version of the standard star cannon) Those however are only the Carapace weapons. The arms may be loaded up with two of the following: A Phantom Pulsar which has a 120" Range is Str D and AP1. It is Heavy 4, hits with a 5" blast and is a primary weapon. It can also have a Phantom D-Cannon with a 72" range Str D AP 2 and is Ordnance 1 10" Blast, Barrage, and a primary weapon which has a special rule allowing it to by-pass void shields and power fields. The final option is a Titan close Combat Weapon. You can only take one but it gives the model +3 Attacks and also includes Twin-linked Phantom Starcannons. The model has enhanced holo-fields granting the usual 4+ save if it is standing still. The save increases to 3+ when it moves. In addition all close combat attacks against the phantom titan only hit on rolls of 6. It is Agile like the revenant granting it extra move at the expense of shooting. It has the Towering Monstrosity rule which basically limits the range of the carapace weapons to a minimum of 12". Lastly, it has Spirit Guides which allows the Titan to ignore Driver Stunned or Crew Shaken results on a 3+

This wraps up the rest of the Eldar units. Next I will likely cover the campaign and overall storyline in the book. I am in the middle of wrapping the narrative up right now so I will be sure to give that a review.

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