Fandex Eldar v3.00 - Revived and Updated for 6th Edition

[Squallish]

A few years ago, a lot of us here had some ideas which I helmed and put into a Fandex for Eldar.

I decided to revive and update the Codex, which you can view online here:

Fandex Eldar v4.00

Comments, Criticism, Ideas all welcome.

[Son of Sanguinius]

Nice to see the update. Comments incoming. Take all of my comments as suggestions please, because I'm too lazy to type politely at the moment.

- Lose Power of the Mind. I know the Eldar are a highly psychic race, but you should avoid too many special rules and this is the easiest general rule to lose.
- Lose Guidance of the Wise too. It's a rule that any army can justify.
- Give D-Weapons a strength and the fleshbane and armorbane rules
- I'm not a huge fan of monofilament. Maybe change it to say if a unit takes any wounds from it?
- WS 5 and A 1 on the Farseer is a little strange. I'd either bump up to A 2 or bump down to WS 4.
- Make Force Unleashed a power that makes the Warseer's attacks AP 3 or 2.
- Give the Avatar a singing spear with an inferno cannon attack.
- Change Inspiring Presence to Fearless bubble (no penalty anymore)
- Can I hear your idea behind Shellguard Sentinels?
- Wraithlord needs S8, I5, W4, A4.
- Wraithguard need W2, especially if you make them Bulky.
- Peter Parker? You, sir, should be ashamed of yourself.

I'll get back to you with more later.

[Squallish]

- Lose Power of the Mind. I know the Eldar are a highly psychic race, but you should avoid too many special rules and this is the easiest general rule to lose.
I just want a universal rule that shows off the Eldar's psychic nature.
- Lose Guidance of the Wise too. It's a rule that any army can justify.
I can agree with that one.
- Give D-Weapons a strength and the fleshbane and armorbane rules
Forgot about those two rules. Will use at least Fleshbane.
- I'm not a huge fan of monofilament. Maybe change it to say if a unit takes any wounds from it?
It was based off the current Nightspinner rules. Perhaps just Dangerous, not Difficult?
- WS 5 and A 1 on the Farseer is a little strange. I'd either bump up to A 2 or bump down to WS 4.
Guess I like symmetry in WS/BS. The Combat version of leader is the Warseer who has 3.
- Make Force Unleashed a power that makes the Warseer's attacks AP 3 or 2.
Like
- Give the Avatar a singing spear with an inferno cannon attack.
As an option? Or replace Wailing Doom?
- Change Inspiring Presence to Fearless bubble (no penalty anymore)
Old holdout, as you noticed
- Can I hear your idea behind Shellguard Sentinels?
Each Aspect Warrior Shrine is an Aspect of Khaine. Most focus on Offense, and I felt like something Eldar are lacking in is a purely Defensive unit. As Defense is an Aspect of War, I felt it would be best put in as a new Aspect. The Elite slot seems like the perfect location for this unit. Each Aspect is also based around an animal spirit, so Tortoises was the one I chose there. The models would use elongated shields (think LotR elves) and long spears to keep their enemy at bay (hence harder to hit with Glaives). On the table they would act almost as a mobile Aegis Defence line, providing better cover for the units behind them, and acting as a speed bump to advancing enemy forces. Would also work well at entangling tough units long enough for mop-up units like Shining Spears or Banshees to finish their work. I got a lot of concern with this unit because it doesn't fit the Eldar playstyle, but with Wraithwall being a popular build, I think Eldar have a wider variety of playstyles with them included.
- Wraithlord needs S8, I5, W4, A4.
Then they would need to be about 150pts base at least..
- Wraithguard need W2, especially if you make them Bulky.
I decided to buff their offense (15" Rng) instead of their defense. They're already Bulky right now in all but name. W2 would mean they have to be at least 55pts.
- Peter Parker? You, sir, should be ashamed of yourself.
Place holder for the longest time (as are all the new Phoenix Lord and special character names). Nobody came along with an idea that I jumped up and liked
I'll get back to you with more later.
Thanks sir!

[Squallish]

Updated with many of the above suggestions, a replacement for Power of the Mind, and a new ability for Wraithlords.

[Haravikk]

I really like this proposed list! I've got a bunch of thoughts, hopefully not coming across as too negative as I do like the list overall:

• Grace of the Eldar - Wouldn't it be easier to just give the specific units the Fleet and/or Crusader rules as appropriate? My thinking being that combat units might want both, but more shooting focused units might only need Crusader (for rushing to new positions). Eldar Jetbikes I think are okay with the boost they're already receiving from the rulebook.
• Monofilament - I see you've already made the change from Difficult and Dangerous, but I just want to say that maybe an alternative would be to make it Difficult or Dangerous, with the choice going to the player that was struck. So basically their choice is whether to try to unentangle themselves (Difficult) or just ignore it and forge ahead (Dangerous)? Just an alternative idea, Dangerous only is the simplest option so might be easiest overall, as the Difficult option would require some stipulation (no Move Through Cover, Monstrous Creatures and Bulky or Fearless units can only choose Dangerous).
• Inspiring Presence (Avatar of Khaine) - This should maybe be renamed to avoid confusion with the Warlord trait of the same name. Maybe something like "Embodiment of Khaine" or simply "Avatar"?
• Shellguard Sentinels - I really like the basic idea behind these, but I think the description of them being like spearmen with big shields doesn't seem all that Eldar to me. Again just as an alternative idea but one thought I had was maybe to make it a mixed unit, where the defensive barrier is an equipment choice; basically your standard Sentinel would have a smaller personal shield and the glaive, but you could upgrade pairs of models to carry barrier staves (maybe a better name), basically tall staffs that create a forcefield between them, following the rules for the Shield Generators terrain feature. So you basically choose between having a completely rock-hard unit that fights defensively on its own, or you trade the benefit of the glaives (at a price) on some models for the ability to protect other units. You would need at least one pair of shield generator models, but could take more if you want redundancy. It just gives them a bit more flexibility as you could for example choose to field a cheaper unit and transport it into the thick of the enemy to hold them up, or go for the barrier ability and use them to protect your own units.
• Wraithlord - For the Wraithsword, wouldn't it be easier to just have the Wraithlord at Strength 5 and 4 Attacks, since Smash will allow them to do basically the same strength/attack swap but the other way round? Unless your intention is to eliminate Smash for Wraithlords without a Wraithsword? Otherwise a Wraithsword could simply be an AP1 weapon that gives them Rampage as well, so all Wraithlords would have Smash, but a Wraithsword would make it practically impossible for them not to destroy a vehicle. It just seems strange to have a Monstrous Creature at Strength 10 I guess, since there seems no reason a vanilla Wrathlord couldn't just mash up smaller targets normally.

These are just my thoughts, the list is looking great!

[Squallish]

• Grace of the Eldar - Wouldn't it be easier to just give the specific units the Fleet and/or Crusader rules as appropriate? My thinking being that combat units might want both, but more shooting focused units might only need Crusader (for rushing to new positions). Eldar Jetbikes I think are okay with the boost they're already receiving from the rulebook.
  The specific units have Fleet and/or Crusader already. Grace simply makes Eldar reliably fast, as they should be. Eldar are not going to stumble through trees or brush, they will glide over it. Perhaps a little too strong *with* Fleet and Crusader though, so good point.
• Monofilament - I see you've already made the change from Difficult and Dangerous, but I just want to say that maybe an alternative would be to make it Difficult or Dangerous, with the choice going to the player that was struck. So basically their choice is whether to try to unentangle themselves (Difficult) or just ignore it and forge ahead (Dangerous)? Just an alternative idea, Dangerous only is the simplest option so might be easiest overall, as the Difficult option would require some stipulation (no Move Through Cover, Monstrous Creatures and Bulky or Fearless units can only choose Dangerous).
  I really like this idea.
• Inspiring Presence (Avatar of Khaine) - This should maybe be renamed to avoid confusion with the Warlord trait of the same name. Maybe something like "Embodiment of Khaine" or simply "Avatar"?
  Well, this is the name given to it in the current Eldar Codex, so perhaps it is GW who should stop recycling? I think I will actually just fix his Warlord Trait to the one in the book, and maybe add another one, like I did for Nuadhu.
• Shellguard Sentinels - I really like the basic idea behind these, but I think the description of them being like spearmen with big shields doesn't seem all that Eldar to me. Again just as an alternative idea but one thought I had was maybe to make it a mixed unit, where the defensive barrier is an equipment choice; basically your standard Sentinel would have a smaller personal shield and the glaive, but you could upgrade pairs of models to carry barrier staves (maybe a better name), basically tall staffs that create a forcefield between them, following the rules for the Shield Generators terrain feature. So you basically choose between having a completely rock-hard unit that fights defensively on its own, or you trade the benefit of the glaives (at a price) on some models for the ability to protect other units. You would need at least one pair of shield generator models, but could take more if you want redundancy. It just gives them a bit more flexibility as you could for example choose to field a cheaper unit and transport it into the thick of the enemy to hold them up, or go for the barrier ability and use them to protect your own units.
  This is what I was hoping for as a suggestion for this unit. Something to modernize it so it feels more at home in 40k than fantasy, without taking away from the role or theme. I'll work on this later
• Wraithlord - For the Wraithsword, wouldn't it be easier to just have the Wraithlord at Strength 5 and 4 Attacks, since Smash will allow them to do basically the same strength/attack swap but the other way round? Unless your intention is to eliminate Smash for Wraithlords without a Wraithsword? Otherwise a Wraithsword could simply be an AP1 weapon that gives them Rampage as well, so all Wraithlords would have Smash, but a Wraithsword would make it practically impossible for them not to destroy a vehicle. It just seems strange to have a Monstrous Creature at Strength 10 I guess, since there seems no reason a vanilla Wrathlord couldn't just mash up smaller targets normally.
  Yeah, I guess I should get with the times for MC design, huh? Yours is a more elegant option.

[Tindalos]

Why do Warlocks have Psychic Mastery level 1?
As you point out, their powers arn't activated, so it doesn't affect anything there, they don't have Force Weapons. And it has no affect on Deny the Witch, since it would only grant them a bonus against those with psychic mastery 0. Who don't have to activate their powers, and so are not affected by Deny the Witch.

[Squallish]

Ahh, good point, sir. Lvl 0 it is.

[Squallish]

Updated to be more readable and including many updated discussed here and at dakkadakka. Pdf to come this evening.

[Haravikk]

I'm liking the update to Shellguard Sentinels! Just some thoughts on the wording of the rule, but Slow and Purposeful already means they can't Run, and you might want to clarify whether they can charge after deploying the shield, and whether they can use it when in combat; my inclination is towards neither being possible. Also, it might be better to say "treat Strength and AP as 1 point worse" rather than reduce, since AP is funny like that. Not that GW's rules always bother, but if you'd be tweaking the rule wording anyway…
The wording could be something like:
"In the Shooting phase any squad of Shellguard Sentinels that is not in close combat may choose to deploy its Shell Shield. Models in the squad are treated as having Run, however, until the start of their next turn any enemy ranged attack that traces line of sight across any point within 3" of a model using its Shell Shield will treat the Strength and AP values of the attack as 1 point worse than normal."
That might even be a bit too verbose, just wanted to clarify what I mean.

As for the Guardian Pike, I think that trying to apply Hammer of Wrath on the defensive is a bit strange as the wording of Hammer of Wrath would mean it still wouldn't take effect without additional clarification. Probably better just to have Hammer and Wrath and Counter Attack; rolling to hit makes it not quite as good, but it lets you avoid having to work around the Hammer of Wrath rule's wording. Personally though I liked them not being hit on better than a 5+; fit the defensive style of the unit nicely since they have an generally low number of attacks.


I'm still not sure about the Wraithlord; S6 would be ample for your average Wraithlord, who would still be gaining from the extra attacks since it'll still wound any infantry on 2's, while still being dangerous against vehicles, especially with the basic AP2 and armour penetration re-roll from Smash attacks. Re-rolling misses on the Wraithsword is good, but AP3 seems redundant as all Monstrous Creatures now strike with AP2 thanks to the Smash rule (this includes non-Smash attacks). Might be worth specifying the Wraithsword as AP1 to give the extra boost at chopping vehicles in half. So all Wraithlords would have 4 S6 attacks at AP2, or 2 S10 attacks at AP2, however with Wraithsword they'd be re-rolling to hit and getting the bonus damage roll for having AP1, giving them a 50% chance of destroying a vehicle on a single penetrating hit!

[Squallish]

I tweaked your wording slightly, but used most of it.

I had not re-read Hammer of Wrath. I made them WS10 when struck instead.

I went with S8 so he wouldn't be ham-fisted by Paladins completely. At least he will take a few down with him before he goes.. and it keeps his anti-tank strong without needing to Smash, so he's stronger against light vehicles without, heavy vehicles with.

The swords are AP3 for Wraithguard, who can take them for their whole unit. I could give Wraithlords S6 base, and give the swords a +2S bonus or something?

[Haravikk]

I like the change on the guardian pikes to WS10, that does fit better than the previous flat 5+ to-hit actually by letting elite fighters still hit you on 4's.

The swords are AP3 for Wraithguard, who can take them for their whole unit. I could give Wraithlords S6 base, and give the swords a +2S bonus or something?

Oh, my mistake! Well my main thought is making sure there's a good distinction between the shootier and choppier versions of the Wraithlord, otherwise there's not much reason to go for the Wraithsword on them when you'd probably get more mileage from the extra Shuriken Cannon. I suppose for a 10 point upgrade it's not a huge deal anyway, it's more just my feeling on the need to represent something like that as a bit more significant.

I do see your reasoning for Strength 8, it's a pretty silly situation to found yourself in thanks to Power Fists and similar being, well, too damned powerful really. On Strength 3 models they're fairly sane, but anything stronger and it gets silly, leaving these kind of conundrums! My personal feeling is that the mostly shooty version shouldn't worry too much about that; it should still have the firepower advantage and Toughness to help keep it alive, plus it still wouldn't be a slouch at dishing out damage, with the Smash attack as an option. I dunno, I guess I just mostly feel that the wraithsword should be at least as nasty as it looks on the models, so don't let that interfere if you really don't agree

[Squallish]

I've begun adding Art, with the Farseer entry. Currently I'll be linking to the artists for those used without permission.. but if anyone here has any well-painted models or fan art they would like to submit for a certain entry, please contact me via PM or post it here.

[Von Wibble]

I will start this long post by saying I like it in general - please don't think of my many comments, (some of which are based on my opinion of what eldar should be rather than functionality of the rule in question) as implying too much negativity. I shall certainly be seeing if I can use it for some games.

Guardians, currently the worst unit in any codex imo, haven't really improved??! 6" range boost for -1S, and a 1 point reduction, but 20 points for a shuriken cannon since you have to upgrade 2 to platform gunners at 10 points each (unless your intention with the wording is that you pay 10 points for per pair rather than each?). Given Eldar are a dying race they imo should be 10 points per model, but worth it. That means minimum Assault 2 (and ideally assault 3) S4 18" range for the catapults to my mind.

Avengers - Defend looks too weak to really achieve anything in that form (why isn't it simply a whole squad buff?), leaving the avengers as mobile hit and run troops? Trouble is they don't quite look strong enough at this, again because the catapult even buffed as it is is weak. Upped to assault 3 you might be talking.

Fire Dragons, Banshees - both look good

Autarch - can the 3 dice be rolled on a mix of tables or all on the same? Autarch traits themselves don't look that interesting apart from Sustained Assault and Misdirection. Havnig 1 of them screw over enemy reserves (eg enemy auto fails 1 roll of your choice in turn 2, no effect in other turns) or allow redeployment of D3 units in your army after seeing who has first turn (including initiative) but before movement phase, staying in deployment zone, or havnig him force an enemy unit of your choice in reserve - these could all very nicely represent the master strategist that is the Autarch.

Farseer - Looks OK, Void Ray power seems a bit weak though with that range. Assume all powers use 1 warp charge? Is there no way to be Mastery level 3 and actually as good as a grey knight librarian?

Warseer - Interesting. Does Force unleashed use a warp charge or is it more an innate ability?

Shellguard - Also interesting. I can see MSU of that being particularly annoying for opponents.

Shadow Spectres - Look fun!

Harlequins - Look good, but why use new rules for Hullucinogen grenades when they already exist in codex Grey Knights (and are good fun in themselves)?

Jetbikes, Rangers - Wow, 2 seriously buffed up units that didn't need it as much as Guardians and Dire Avengers. Can't see why you'd not take these as your troop choices unless you are ULthwe (or Biel Tan). Rangers look very cheap for what they are getting and even at 75 points the Alain'tar looks like a must take for armies with 3 or more ranger units.

Wave Serpent, Fast attack in general - Fine.

Nightwing/Phoenix - Looks about right compared to the Vendetta ie far too good compared to other fliers.

Generally looking at teh tanks and skimmers its a shame really - I feel they should be priced at 200 odd points each but be made worth it rather than keeping similar rules and having a price to fit as you have done. Less of a dying race feel to it.

Dark Reapers - No night vision?

Raphaela - Reference to teenage mutant nija turtles?

[Squallish]

Replies in red.

I will start this long post by saying I like it in general - please don't think of my many comments, (some of which are based on my opinion of what eldar should be rather than functionality of the rule in question) as implying too much negativity. I shall certainly be seeing if I can use it for some games.
No worries sir! Everyone brings a different set of eyes to the table.


Guardians, currently the worst unit in any codex imo, haven't really improved??! 6" range boost for -1S, and a 1 point reduction, but 20 points for a shuriken cannon since you have to upgrade 2 to platform gunners at 10 points each (unless your intention with the wording is that you pay 10 points for per pair rather than each?). Given Eldar are a dying race they imo should be 10 points per model, but worth it. That means minimum Assault 2 (and ideally assault 3) S4 18" range for the catapults to my mind.
The Shuricannon (base platform gun) is 20pts because the Gunners are now BS4, thus lowering Guardian's dependence on Guide as well as making them reliable at home camping with said Heavy guns. They also get better because you can bring more big guns in smaller squad sizes, and gained Defensive grenades.

Avengers - Defend looks too weak to really achieve anything in that form (why isn't it simply a whole squad buff?), leaving the avengers as mobile hit and run troops? Trouble is they don't quite look strong enough at this, again because the catapult even buffed as it is is weak. Upped to assault 3 you might be talking.
All Exarch abilities in the Fandex have been adapted to be Exarch-only, while squad-abilities have been included in their cost for all squads. Avengers are now better at being jack of all trades, master of none.

Autarch - can the 3 dice be rolled on a mix of tables or all on the same? Autarch traits themselves don't look that interesting apart from Sustained Assault and Misdirection. Havnig 1 of them screw over enemy reserves (eg enemy auto fails 1 roll of your choice in turn 2, no effect in other turns) or allow redeployment of D3 units in your army after seeing who has first turn (including initiative) but before movement phase, staying in deployment zone, or havnig him force an enemy unit of your choice in reserve - these could all very nicely represent the master strategist that is the Autarch.
Only one at the moment. I'll correct the wording. Most Warlord traits in the book aren't that amazing either. I wanted them to be useful, yet not "always roll on the Autarch Table every game" powerful over the main rulebook tables. Also, many of these abilities were revived Exarch abilities from the 3rd Ed Codex.

Farseer - Looks OK, Void Ray power seems a bit weak though with that range. Assume all powers use 1 warp charge? Is there no way to be Mastery level 3 and actually as good as a grey knight librarian?
I've been considering buffing it. All WC1 at the moment. May make Void Ray really good at WC3. Currently no, but I could add a Runic option.

Warseer - Interesting. Does Force unleashed use a warp charge or is it more an innate ability?
Uses Warp Charge.. 2+ to wound AP2 is pretty powerful on a base HQ.

Shellguard - Also interesting. I can see MSU of that being particularly annoying for opponents.
Mmmmhmmm...

Harlequins - Look good, but why use new rules for Hallucinogen grenades when they already exist in codex Grey Knights (and are good fun in themselves)?
These grenades are different from the Marine rip-offs. Also I'm not a big fan of "hard-to-remember, let me get the rulebook out" rules.

Jetbikes, Rangers - Wow, 2 seriously buffed up units that didn't need it as much as Guardians and Dire Avengers. Can't see why you'd not take these as your troop choices unless you are ULthwe (or Biel Tan). Rangers look very cheap for what they are getting and even at 75 points the Alain'tar looks like a must take for armies with 3 or more ranger units.
They are meant to compete with the buffs to all Troops. Eldar, having fragile troops, need them to be hard-hitting, in my opinion.

Generally looking at teh tanks and skimmers its a shame really - I feel they should be priced at 200 odd points each but be made worth it rather than keeping similar rules and having a price to fit as you have done. Less of a dying race feel to it.
The problem with 200pt skimmers, especially as Transports (Falcon, Wave Serpents), is that it severely limits your pts for your whole army build. If I were to do this, even if the tanks were really strong, you couldn't actually bring more than 3 in your army, or else you won't have the bodies on the ground to actually win objectives. While I like the dying race fluff, I don't think it can translate to the table well. For example, I would have to buff all tanks to AV13 and BS4 and give them a few special rules to make them a similar cost to a Necron transport.. which is still cheaper than this new Wave Serpent...

Dark Reapers - No night vision?
Could add

Raphaela - Reference to teenage mutant nija turtles?
Mayyyybe Yeah, the new Phoenix and some Character names are place holders and references.

[Firaxin]

Just gonna chuck an idea into the mix--

In the same way all Splinter Weapons are poisoned, a fluffy adaptation for their Craftworld brethren (and something that goes a long way towards fixing shuricat weapons) is to give every Shuri-weapon the Shred special rule (pg. 41 in the Core Rulebook), imho. Dramatically boosts their anti-infantry capabilities without making them unrealistically good at tackling Heavy Infantry (as AP4 ideas would do) or Hordes (as Assault 3 ideas would do).

A simple, thematic, and incredibly fluffy fix (I can't think of any ranged weapon that deserves Shred more than Shuri-weapons).

[Son of Sanguinius]

Wouldn't an Assault 2 weapon with shred have the same statistical effect as an Assault 3 weapon, assuming all other factors are equal?

[Firaxin]

It caps the maximum number of wounds though; Assault 3 and a squad of 10 could potentially literally mow down a 30x mob of Gaunts/Gargoyles. Let alone the 60 shots a mob of 20 guardians could put out...

Besides, where two options are mechanically identical, why not pick the fluffier one?

[Son of Sanguinius]

I tend not to worry too much about perfect rolling.

My own opinion is that 18" range is a sufficient upgrade to the catapult. Let's not make Guardians into more than what they are. I don't like how they are presented in the background, but let's stop trying to make them into an elite unit. They are the rank and file. One can always use Dire Avengers as Troops if the elite feel is desired.

[Squallish]

It's something I considered including, for sure. At this point it's a lot of changes and re-evaluating the existing units/costs, though. May make it into 4.00.