The Project Continues...

So here's the preliminary layout of my project. That is half my table, with my small collection of unfinished terrain pieces. I've kind of evolved it into a battle board type project similar to those brought to Adepticon. Got an 1850pt Army there, more posts on the army itself later. For now let's focus on the visual elements. The vast majority of the models don't even have a basecoat, which is disappointing, but I think I've chosen some of the more exciting models to paint so assuming I finish it, the board should look pretty awesome. Let's get into some close-ups.

A week or so late on this, but I received this email from GW as most other subscribers did:

Armies on Parade

If you're looking for a new challenge and want to show off your hobby skills at the biggest Games Workshop event of the year then read on. This year we are kicking off something to truly get your hobby juices flowing: Armies on Parade.

So what's it all about then?

Armies on Parade is your chance to plan, collect, model and paint an amazing new army, display it on a two foot by two foot board and show it off in all its glory in your local Hobby Centre.

All our Hobby Centres around the world will be holding a Parade Day where everyone in the store will have the chance to vote for their favourite Army on Parade.

Every store winner will then go on to proudly represent their community at Games Day, where all the winning boards from across the country will be on display and the ultimate Armies on Parade champion will be chosen. If you are attending Games Day, not only will you have a chance to see all the magnificent boards, but you will also get to vote for your favourite making the national winner the true hobbyist's champion.

I'm actually quite interested in this. Not so much to enter the contest itself, but as an opportunity to paint and model. Still I have no idea which of my units I want to showcase, but I've got 10,000+ points to choose from last time I added it all up. I also think this will be a great opportunity to put together some Eldar terrain. I made a webway gate from a tutorial a long time ago and have been working on some other Craftworld style buildings. Perhaps this is a good time to get off my ass and finish some of these projects. Maybe I'll actually finish painting some units! If all goes well, expect to see some progress logs.

Playing Like Your Craftworld

Often times the Eldar army is referred to as a toolbox. By that it is meant that, if there is a problem in the 40k universe, the Eldar have the solution. Enemy Space Marines brought a pesky Land Raider? Try some Fire Dragons. Need that objective, send in the Guardian Jetbikes. No hoard can withstand a Dire Avenger Bladestorm followed by a Striking Scorpion assault. Why then is the Eldar codex not number one? Well, like everything about this army, it takes finesse to balance everything. The points are just too high to take every awesome unit. This is why you do not see any army lists that have Wraithguard as troops, Aspect Warriors in wave serpents, and the list led by a Farseer and Warlocks on jetbikes. The point costs for all of that would have you playing Apocalypse where you have that and your opponent is rocking multiple Baneblades. How do you balance it all? A good place to start would be to build your army in the shadow of a particular Craftworld.
Read the fluff. The Eldar Craftworlds are not just a color scheme, but a style of play. Each Craftworld has its own war doctrine. Each Craftworld has a specialty: Saim-hann has jetbikes, Ulthwe has powerful psykers, and Alaitoc is ranger heavy. Not only does each have a specialty, but they make a concession in order to fit in the type of units they specialize in. Let us look at Ulthwe again. Craftworld Ulthwe is famous for two things, its Warlocks and Farseers, and also it’s Black Guardians. Why Guardians and not Dire Avengers? The answer to that question comes down to points, at least when the transition to the table top is made. Compare a Dire Avenger to a Guardian, by all accounts you have a superior unit and as such you pay extra points for it. Now consider that you get three Guardians for every two Dire Avengers and things begin to come clearer. The Dire Avenger is still the better unit and worth the points, however when you need to put models on the table while conserving points for better units, the Guardian becomes a better buy. Ulthwe has “Black Guardians” so that their military high command can bring as many Warlocks as possible. Here is a list made using the ascribed method.

• In Wave Serpent (w/Spirit Stones, Star Engines, and TL-Eldar Missile Launcher
• Eldrad
• Farseer w/Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stones, Doom, Mind War, Eldtrich Storm, Singing Spear
• Warlocks x10 w/Enhance, Embolden, Destructor x8, Singing Spear x4
• In Wave Serpent (w/Spirit Stones, Star Engines, and TL-Brightlance
• Guardians x10 w/Scatter Laser
• Warlock w/Singing Spear, Destructor
• In Wave Serpent (w/Spirit Stones, Star Engines, and TL-Scatter Laser)
• Storm Guardians x10 w/Fusion Gun x2
• Warlock w/Enhance
• In Wave Serpent (w/Spirit Stones, Star Engines, and TL-Brightlance
• Guardians x10 w/Scatter Laser
• Warlock w/Singing Spear, Destructor
• In Wave Serpent (w/Spirit Stones, Star Engines, and TL-Scatter Laser)
• Storm Guardians x10 w/Fusion Gun x2
• Warlock w/Enhance

How does this relate to the “toolbox”? Well, the Eldar Codex contains several units that fill each role in the 41st millennium. Some of these units are better at these jobs than others, but you can cut on one type of role to bolster another. In the list above each unit has a means of dealing with troops and vehicles. The Guardians in Wave Serpents can use their transports gun or the Warlocks singing spear to handle oncoming vehicles, while the Guardians use their shuriken catapults and scatter laser platform to handle footsloggers in range. The Wave Serpent ensuring that they do indeed get into range. The Storm Guardians on the other hand can thin hordes with their transports gun, dispatch tanks with the fusion guns and Warlock’s witchblade, and by way of Enhance can handle themselves decently in an assault. The “Seer Council” has mobility thanks to their Wave Serpent, and by the power of Witchblades, Singing Spears, and Psychic Powers handle just about any threat in the universe. This unit could be built thanks to points saved by choosing Guardians. There were even enough points left to put the whole army in Wave Serpents. As it is an Eldar force, finesse and clever tactics are required to win the day, but the list itself covers all the bases and if it is played right, will be a force to reckon with.