[frost.mage.mari]

(Particularly the Ulthwe)

i thought i was all decided on who i wanted my next army to be... but i saw some really nice eldar models (never played against them yet, but i saw some really nice painted ones).. and it put me back onto the fence as to who i wanted to start next. So i borrowed a friend's codex (she has most of the latest ones.. she prefers to know what she might fight against) and started checking around these forums.

I came across a post here, "The Five Craftworlds" by Tau-killer (it's stickied) and i have some questions about something i saw on Ulthwe. He mentions things like "black guardians".. and as far as i can see in the codex that i read.. there's no such thing as Black Guardians. Is it a term describing a certain combo of wargear? Is it something found in other GW material? Or is it something in an out of date codex? I just can't find anything on it...so any help would be appreciative.

I also have a question of the "Five Craftworlds", when talking about craftworld Iyanden, it says "Many beginners start off using this army, seduced by the fact that wraithlords are troops". Just what does that mean? does it just mean that they're classified as troops(in that they have a toughness, armour save, ect)? Or is there something i'm missing?

I guess my next question would be... how would you play the Eldar, i guess. I'm used to the Tau playstyle (just fun-games). For a person starting them, what kind of play-style is normally done with the Eldar?

Sorry for all the questions.. i'm just having a really hard time making a decision.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

the five craftworlds no longer exist as seperate styles of play. its all been mushed together in the newest codex.

[frost.mage.mari]

Ohh, okay. I guess that'd explain why i can't find anything in the codex.
Thanks for that Jayne!

As for the Playstyle then, if i could get some help on that, i'd be appreciative! *smile*

[The Man They Call Jayne]

that depends on how u want to play, and the type of opponants you expect to play against the most.

the thing to remember about eldar is that each unit is very very specialised, and cant realy do any job it isnt made for.

you have some of the fastest units in the game, on foot and in vehicles. plust some very powerful and safe weponary.

[Warpspiderman]

The Man they call Jayne is right, it's up to you to design your craftworld, whether it be a preexisting one or of your own invention. Generally, Ulthwe fields farseers as HQ and lots of guardian squads with warlocks. They favor more of an infantry style army rather than lots of speed and vehicles.

The main thing about Eldar is that they are extremely powerful but extremely fragile (generally). In an ulthwe army for example, your guardians have low toughness, as do all Eldar (besides wraith constructs), and low armor saves. You'll rely heavily on casting spells to keep units alive and maximize damage. For example, you can give a squad conceal with a warlock, and cast fortune with your farseer so you can reroll it. This gives the entire squad a 5+ cover save that you can reroll. Potentially giving them the staying power of Space Marines. Speed is an incredibly useful Eldar tool as well. With all the jetbikes, transports, and heavy support choices able to get cover saves from moving at least 18", speed becomes a defensive mechanism as well as a vital battlefield technique to attack where your enemy is weakest. Your army should act as an instrument, striking at the enemy where they are weak.

Always good to see new Eldar players! ;D We are a dying race after all.

[Circus Freak]

Have a look here.

(By the way if you're new to how these things work, that's a link. Click it. You may find it helpful.)

[Colonel Marksman]

You can make a list fluffy in any way you wish.

Or you can just forget that and start mixing anything to your desire. The veil barrier over the splitting up of armies and their limitations have been lifted up since the end of 4th Edition. To keep with the style of things however, the Codex has included a few things from the old style...

1. Guardian Jetbikes are now Troop choices.

2. If you take 10 Wraithguard, they count as a Troop choice.

3. Rangers are Troop choices, but they can simply be upgraded to Pathfinders and still remain a Troop choice.

4. They actually gave the Swooping Hawks grenades (namely Haywire grenades).


There's also a few new things:

1. An Eldar hero/war commander, the Autarch

2. The Fire Prisms can link up their shots and now come with a large blast option (Eldar stealing technology from the Tau.)

3. Warp Spiders now have Assault2 weapons.

4. There's a great deal more Exarch powers, changes to previous ones, and general improvements on simplicity.