Eldar - rethinking tactics

[Da Gargoyle]

So I have posted a couple of times on the board of my change in tactics following the new codex. I pontificated on ditching serpents and taking falcons. I took part in a general melee Apocalypse game on the weekend and anchored the left flank for the forces of ??? The list ran like so:

Bog Standard Avatar
Autarch on bike with laser lance
Farseer on bike with singing spear - Doom Guide & Fortune
Warlocks on bike with singing spear x 4 - Protect, Enhance, Destructor & Quicken
Wraith Lord with 2 flamers, missile and Ghostglaive
Wraithguard x 5 + Warlock with singing spear - Destructor - would rather have rolled enhance
Scorpion x 5 & Exarch with claw
Banshee x 5 & Exarch with mirror blades.
Storm Guardians x 10 Flamer and Fusion gun + Warlock witch blade and Empower
Walker x 3, 1 x scatter laser, 2 x star cannon and 3 x Missile with flak
Cloud strike squadron (3 x Falcons) - Scatter lasers x 3 Pulse Lasers of course & shuriken cannon x 3 + Holo fields
Two vypers 1 with missile & shuriken Cannon 1 with bright lance & twin link catapults

I equiped the Falcons with the scatter lasers for laser lock which worked a treat and resulted in taking out two Hellbrutes one each turn. The Vypers and the Seer & counsel took out the lesser targets of a Tzeench Chariot and assorted daemons. They then swept accross the board and flanked the next unit. Next turn Banshee & Scorpion disembarked and while the Falcons tried to take down a Chaos flying dragony thing, the bikes, banshee and scorpions shot a daemon unit to death.

The infantry advanced the other side of the terrain feature and kept the attention of a mob of zombies and a bigger mob of Orks. On the way the Wraith Lord shot, flamed and charged the zombies, a mistake really. The Avatar was taken out second turn by a bunch deap strike death marks. 24 shots wounding on two all of which did. The walkers took down a flyer and then became the focus of the next two to enter play. A Demolisher from an allied unit took out 7 death marks & the waithguard 4 more but 2 got back up and the rest of the battle was a CC smack fest with the Wraith guard.

All in all the force faired reasonably well with the falcons, seer & counsel, Wraith Lord and surprisingly the Vypers surviving unscathed.

The only unit not playable in a standard game is the Cloud Strike squadron. The force was less than 1900 and needs a spirit seer or a second troops choice to make it legal for standard 40k. The laser lock works well, and perhaps you can advise. I claimed laser lock for the walkers as a squadron off the one scatter laser, not sure if the rule is meant just for the vehicle or the squadron?

Anyone else ditched Serpents or are trying new tactics?

[Da Gargoyle]

By the way, in regards to the battle we had a seven minute time limit for each phase of the game. It made for a fast paced battle with every one concentrating on getting their stuff done. It needs some one to oversee so that the opposition does not tie you up with rule arguments. It also resulted in most guys forgetting detail like saves or re-rolls for stuff. One or two units missed a movement phase or shooting as well but that is more like the fog of war. The 7 minutes was a loose rule, if someone had already committed to shooting say, they would finish that task complete to casualties and morale checks.

[Tyrendian]

Laser Lock is per model, not unit

[Ketharim]

And Warlocks cannot join Wraithguard anymore ;)

But anyway I never used Serpents that much in my games, just for their foremost purpose, to Transport troops to where they are needed. Not a fan of Serpent spam and as I normally roll dice far below average they anyway do not work that good for me ^^

[Da Gargoyle]

Thanks for the input on the rules. I also must correct myself because I did not calculate the cost of the Avatar in the list so the points cost is around 2000. As for the Serpents, I used them for transport myself. In 5th ed they could do 36", weather the fusillade of shots and then next turn if it had not yet moved, the troops inside could dismount and assault. Now there is no assault same turn you dismount, even worse the is no advantage in being fast in that if any vehicle moves more than 6" you can't dismount. Hence the rebirth of Falcons, which with that laser lock make the Pulse Laser lethal. Though I think two units of Scorpions over Banshee. Banshee just don't cut it :D

[rle68]

from my personal experience assaults are overrated.. i drop off 3 squads of wraith guard and i shoot out of existence anything in front of me.. they almost always get where i need them and they shoot and things go poof

[Deadlift]

Have you tried giving your Autarch on the jetbike the "mantle of the living god" it's hilariously tough and great for hunting down units.

Here's the build


Autarch on Jetbike with, Banshee Mask, Mantle of the Living God, Laser Lance, Fusion Gun and Here's why he's so tough. You get a 2+ cover save just by moving. Which is rerollable. Sure he's no monsterous creature killer but he's a real pain in the arse for most people to deal with. Point at back field units like Devastators and the like and he's a beast. He's got hit and run, and with the Fusion gun call also deal with vehicles. The trick is not to let him get bogged down in combat. But use him to zip around harassing your opponent. He can't be ignored because of his damage potential. Takes the heat off of the rest of your army too.

[Demonus]

Yep just be careful of stuff that ignores cover cause he sure dies quickly :)