[Yriel of Iyanden]

There have been a number of questions and comments lately that have been regarding Eldar Supermacy. Are the Eldar really the supreme race that we claim to be? What do we use to justify our supremacy in the face of the stalwart yet brutish Imperium of Man?

I have my own answers, which I will summarize for now and expand on later. Feel free to add your own.

Speed and Control

For me, the Eldar are the supreme masters of what I call "precision speed". We have tanks that are faster than Imperial Flyers. We have warp capability in our Warp Spiders for just a few meters. We have Swooping Hawk Wings, Crystal Targetting Matrixes, and Star Engines, all of which allow for controlled, superior speed to our enemies.

Technology

Eldar have mastered forms of technology that no other race dare to even attempt to replicate. We've mastered Warp technology as a weapon, such as our Wraithcannon and Distor Cannon. We use monofilament wraithbone technology in our shuriken weaponry. We have even used Vibro-distortion and psycho-sonic amplification as weapons. Our technology is unparalleled.

Combat Artistry

Eldar are the supreme masters of close combat. We have perfected ritualised combat, in the form of various aspects, each dealing a specific type of death to our opponents. Our assault aspects can beat or handle most any other army's assault specialists. And this is before I've even mentioned the supreme masters- the Harlequins!

And I have not even really gotten to access to low AP, brutal firepower! Put it all together, and it is clear that our enemies have every right to respect our "supremacy".

Why do you feel that the Eldar are supreme?

[oink]

First and foremost, I am utterly disturbed that you yourself would refer to us far superior elder race as xenos scum. for it is the hairy barbarians whom are the xenos scum... infecting OUR galaxy. They think it is theirs, but this is a lie construed by our superior mental ability so that they may have something to do.

How dare they call us inferior! The young Tau have more right to be here than they do! We should never have allowed them to progress to such a level to inhabit the stars.

We Eldar will always be far superior and I shall list some reasoning behind this, even though I need not because I clearly have superior superiority!

Evolution
We Eldar are a mature race... evolved beyond the comprehension of the scummy barbarians. We are faster, more agile, dextrous and mentally capable than they could ever wish to be. We have mastered the arts of the physical and mental world as a result. Worlds are born before us at a command and we travel the galaxy through the webway we have built and mastered. These barbarians that attempt to usurp us know not what they do. They inhabit and infest the planets we created. We allow them to survive because our advanced evolution even allows us to forsee the future, and in the future, when the star gods return, they will feast upon the mon keighs in their entirety, leaving the galaxy to us once more.

Foresight
We know all possible futures... they know not even their own past.

[Gotchaye]

I'd like to add some specific examples, if I may. Until the current xenos scum thing blows over, I'll be using Elves, fishheads, and Nekrons (because Space Undead is too unwieldy). As far as I know, 'The Mighty and Glorious Imperium ' still works, so that's what I'll be using. Edit: it's been changed to Humans now.

Fish'ead tech is sometimes brought up as somehow superior to Elvish designs. This is an easy mistake to make, as, by the wargame rules, a Railgun is simply better than a Bright Lance, and Fish'ead skimmers seem almost as fast and maneuverable as Elfin models. However, it should first be noted that the Railgun requires intensive maintenance (suggested in WD fluff on the Swordfish, and obvious from considering the nature of the gun), whereas the Bright Lance is incredibly efficient and, having no moving parts, probably requires little to no looking-after. As well, a Bright Lance works just as well against much superior armor - that of Titans and other War Engines.

As well, the Bright Lance is hardly the only anti-tank weapon that the Elves can bring to bear. The mighty Pulse Laser (using Epic rules - probably more accurate for the bigger vehicles) is significantly better than the Railgun against any kind of vehicle, and the Prism Cannon is easily superior against the stronger AVs (as well as having the same range with anti-personnel and anti-air ability). In fact, the best comparison is probably to the Prism, since both are mounted on large tanks with no other main guns. I don't think it's at all contentious to say that the Prism Cannon is the single most advanced piece of laser weaponry out there.

Another note on the Railgun - the Elves have the same technology. In fact, they've miniaturized it. What the Fish'eads can only mount on bulky, nearly Dreadnought-sized battlesuits and tanks, the Elves equip even their most basic troops (and even their CC specialists) with handheld Railguns. Not only do these guns work using the same principles, but their rate of fire is much, much higher, but they actually create their ammo from a concentrated storage medium as they shoot it.

When it comes to skimmer tech, there's no contest. Falcons and Wave Serpents are more accurately classed as aircraft that just happen to be capable of transporting troops and turning on a dime. Both are capable of upper-atmospheric flight, and both travel at speeds well in excess of anything the Fish'eads can muster.

One final note: Holofields are, hands down, the best defensive tech the galaxy has ever seen. The Elves don't even need Void Shields or Deflectors - Holofields keep them far safer, without at all endangering the vehicle's paint job.

Humans can be said to be evolving into a psychic race, but they're nowhere close to our dear Space Elves. Every Elf, without exception, is capable of producing telekinetic force - this is how they operate most of their machinery. Older fluff even has them being able to influence growing things, a la Wood Elves. They are all also capable of creating objects out of thin air, and those that specialize in this are called Bonesingers.

Warlocks are the equivalent of SpaMar Librarians - they have walked the Path of the Warrior, proving themselves the equal of anything in power armor, and have mastered some of the most destructive psychic abilities ever seen.

Farseers, while physically weak (though not frail, due to crystallization), are always consciously aware of available future paths, and can act so as to bring about the one of their choosing. This has a tremendous effect on their combat ability - the most inept Farseer can defeat a weapons master simply by foreseeing the one attack that he isn't ready for. Their powers allow them to subtly affect the flow of battle, shifting chance itself in their favor.

The most telling fact, though, is that the Elves are forced to channel their power through runes so as to avoid having their souls eaten. Human psykers are capable of simply tapping into the Warp. The obvious conclusion is that humans aren't nearly as likely to draw demons, and we know that demons are attracted to things with greater warp presences. Thus, Elvish psykers have warp presences on a level with the most powerful (alpha and alpha plus) human psykers.

Nekrons are the only race to challenge the technological superiority of the Elves. While they undoubtedly achieve this in armor and traditional weapons technology, the Xenos scum still have the edge in mobility (on all strategic levels) and in warp-based tech. Living Metal and Particle Whips are hard to top (though Pulsar Lances come close, and Holofields afford better protection, if not against Particle Whips), but the Webway, Elvish skimmer tech, and the various D-cannon derivatives (possibly including the Talismen of Vaul) all beat out anything the Nekrons can offer up in their respective fields.

[Yriel of Iyanden]

I must admit this post was somewhat of a "rouse" in that it was a deliberate attempt to get people more involved in our April Fool's Joke But nonetheless, there have been some excellent posts made in reply!

Excellent work folks!