[azr9]

ive been looking at multiple lists to notice almost every one has 3 or more tanks!
i remember i could mount an effective force with only 1 falcon. Now every squad is getting some sort of pimped ride. now this may be usefull in tourneys, were the speed and protection will probably be needed. But why have all these armies got so many tanks!

post your views.....

[Aun]

Here are some of the reasons why Eldar excel as a mech force.

1) The average Eldar's low toughness and save means that Eldar cannot walk up the field out of terrain and expect to live for long like Marines can.

2) Eldar do not have the high model count like Guard to afford to lose to many models.

3) The only normal units that can take Heavy Weapons are guardians, but their low BS means that 1 shot weapons like the Missile Launcher have a low probability to hit, however a Wave Serpent can Twin Link its weapons increasing it probability to hit, and a Falcon comes with a Pulse Laser and can take another heavy weapon increasing the likely hood of hits. Also, mounting Heavy weapons on a vehicles makes them harder to knock out and increases their maneuverability.

These factores combined make Mech Eldar list very appealing.

[Tau-killer]

I think E7's points are spot on. Just to add my own:

The Eldar's three main weaknesses are:

Poor toughness values
Poor/average saving throw values
Short ranged weaponry

One obvious way to negate these weaknesses is to rely on large numbers of wave serpents and falcons to get the units to the enemy quickly and safely behind solid, thick vehicle armour without exposing them to deadly enemy fire.

Also, as all Eldar players know, the Eldar are an incredibly specialised army - and you have co-ordinate all your units carefully in order to fight effectively. To do this, you must outmanoeuvre the enemy and, as much as possible, fight the battle on your own terms. One of the easiest ways to do this is to be faster than the enemy - and thus a fast mechanised force becomes even more attractive.

Also, to put it bluntly, the Eldar have an excellent selection of tanks - and its easy to see why Eldar players would want to use lots of them and play to one of the Eldar's great strengths. The Wave Serpent is arguably one of the best transports in the game - being fast, well armoured, protected against the highest strength enemy shots and having the capability to be armed with twinlinked heavy weaponry. The falcon can take a large amount of heavy weaponry and upgrades to ensure that it is extremely difficult to destroy - and it has the bonus of being able to transport a small number of troops. The Fire Prism has the devastatingly powerful Prism Cannon which can wipe out both infantry and armour alike.

That said, whilst I see that a mechanised Eldar force can be an extremely effective one, it is not by any means the only way that you can use the Eldar effectively. Those who know me will know that I tend to field a rather slow Eldar force - which in my opinion also works very effectively....

[Vet.Eter]

I absolutely agree with both E7 and Tau-killer, but I would like to add one more:
I'm talking about myself but I do believe that more will agree that it just looks so damn awesome on the table! A mech Eldar army is just something that you're proud of putting on a table and your opponent will just at such a sight.

Cheers, Vet.Eter

[Shiki]

I have noticed this, but how ever I still think a non mech force is something not to be taken lightly, last night had a eldar/chaos vs nids/rines and we wiped the floor with them and both myself and the chaos player had any mech, but it is deffinatly easier if you do, running banshees and harlis up the field ready to deploy on turn turn behind your enemy is always a good thing

[Yaifrog]

Still, Eldar vehicles cost a massive amount of points, and even when they're pimped out with holo-fields and spirit stones if any shot gets past they're not gonna be able to shoot. This is one of the hard parts about taking them, they're not going to be dishing out a lot of firepower (Wave Serpents especially)

[crisis_vyper]

The reason why there are more mechs these days is as The rest have stated. However I would also like to add another thing.

Eldar have very little anti-vehicle platforms, and most of the better ones are upon vehicles or rides upon vehicles. So war walkers and also the grav-tanks are very attractive indeed to take as they have superior BS to make full use of the weapons and also the speed to reach to the spot where they are needed most.