Exarch Loadouts

[Just_Me]

I am curious to hear thoughts on what special weapons and powers people chose to give to their Exarchs (especially Dark Reapers as I have a new squad of the morbid little fellows, but I would like to hear any and every thought). All of them have at least two special weapon options (many have three), and most would seem to have more than one viable loadout; so what do you choose and why? What about Exarch Powers, do you use them? Why or why not?

[Chumbalaya]

Dire Avengers: No Exarch since they just sit in Falcons and make them scoring. They're cheap scoring units first and foremost, so tricking them out is counter productive.

Fire Dragons: Dragon's Breath Flamer, no skills. The FDs provide plenty of firepower, he gives them the capability to kill off infantry too. Flexibility is great.

Scorpions: Exarch has the special "dust collectors" and has the Exarch Power "sneak out of your case". Leave them at home.

Banshees: Mirrorswords or Executioner, War Shout. They murder infantry, but they need Doom to be really effective. Harlequins are better since they don't need to ride in a non-open topped transport.

Shining Spears: Ha ha ha! No.

Swooping Hawks: Exarch skill Failure and the dreaded "Shelf Space". Pass.

Warp Spiders: I wish these were good, but they suck.

Dark Reapers: Exarch power "I wish it was 4th edition still" with the "holy crap look at my awesome S4 gun that costs 250 points and can't move and fire!" weapon. Hate to break it to you, but they fail severely.

[DarkLink]

Dire Avengers: No Exarch since they just sit in Falcons and make them scoring. They're cheap scoring units first and foremost, so tricking them out is counter productive.

Fire Dragons: Dragon's Breath Flamer, no skills. The FDs provide plenty of firepower, he gives them the capability to kill off infantry too. Flexibility is great.


The only upgrade on Dire Avengers that might be worth it would be bladestorm. Aside from that, I agree; no upgrades.

Same with Fire Dragons. They're practically a suicide unit. Drive up, melta something dead, and if they happen to live, congratulations. No need for upgrades.

I will say this about Dark Reapers, though; if the exarch ever catches one of my Grey Knight squads out in the open with his multiple template gun, each blast will scatter perfectly to get the absolute maximum number of hits on my squad. Every single time.

[pchappel]

I tend to run my Reaper with a Missile Launcher (or Tempest Launche)r and fast shot just for the extra shots, though Crack Shot for the "no cover saves" with the Tempest is one I use if I get the points against some armies...

The Scorpions, I use a Biting Blade and both abilities... I've actually had excellent luck with the Scorpions, and the Biting Blade at least gets an average Str 7 hit or 3 in...

Fire Dragons with the Flamer...

I've seen the Dire Avengers played with Blade Storm and the 2 Sh Cats... One round of fire I guess can be worth it, but I've not played the unit, so not sure...

To be honest I haven't played my Banshees this edition, lacking an open topped transport to assault out of, I see too many things that would kill them before they get into assault range, but... The Executioner looks nice :-)

Completely forgot the Spiders... Deep striking a metric crapload of Str 6 shots? Yes, I think so... I usually bring the Exarch with the Power Blades and the extra Spinner... 4 Str 6 shots and the needed power weapon in the squad for the "If I have to" assault stuff... If I have the points to spare, Hit and Run is sometimes useful, but more often than not, just dropping into the rear area and pinging Rhino hulls of IG Arty/Tau gun lines makes the squad worth taking...

[fuzzbuket]

avengers exarch 2 catapults+bladestorm!
asurmen is expensive but can kill fex's+trygs and hordes+monsters

spiders: be a safe deepstriker and there annoying little ******* (S6 love net nid warrior+biovore)

scorpions: your marine munching mate:D
kandras looks quite good on paper

banshse: if fighting non T3 youll need to get lucky, if against T3 omnom
jar havnt loooked

dragons look nice and killy
fugan has 2+ and Fnp and a fex-killer:D

BTW Ifound a use for hawks:D:D
put a ball of milliput over face and a cloak where wings should be (and remove barrel of gun)....
Ta-Da mortar style wraithguard

[DarkLink]

Completely forgot the Spiders... Deep striking a metric crapload of Str 6 shots? Yes, I think so... I usually bring the Exarch with the Power Blades and the extra Spinner... 4 Str 6 shots and the needed power weapon in the squad for the "If I have to" assault stuff... If I have the points to spare, Hit and Run is sometimes useful, but more often than not, just dropping into the rear area and pinging Rhino hulls of IG Arty/Tau gun lines makes the squad worth taking...

The problem with Spiders is that their guns have no AP, so they just bounce off anything expensive (since it probably has a good armor save), and they can't really hurt vehicles thanks to the lack of AP, so no deepstriking and hitting rear armor.

[pchappel]

Do you seriously have a hard time punching through AV 10-11 with Str 6 shots en masse? Not saying it is going to auto kill something like meltas, but I see a LOT of Whirlwinds/Preds locally and I don't think there's ever been a time I just didn't have a target for them... Even just slowing the Arty's rate of fire and forcing the other side to react and deal with them makes it easier to get the rest of my army where it needs to be... Might just be the local scene though,YMMV...

[Chumbalaya]

AP- kills them. -1 to all damage makes them pretty much worthless against tanks.

If you want massed S6 shooting, look into a Falcon. It's cheaper, more reliable, more resilient, not AP-, and can be scoring if you stuff DAs inside.

[pchappel]

Different use for me I guess... I'd guess that the Falcon decked out would cost ~ the same as the squad of Spiders, and be vulnerable to the single shot from the Str 9-10 AT stuff I see a lot of... Mind, it could easily shrug off an entire game's shooting, but with my luck they tend to get hit and die early. I play my spiders like a Light Cav option, hit and run along a flank or in the rear area and it usually gets more than it's points back for me. Yes, I've had them deep strike themselves to death, but more often they land somewhere useful, or just start on the table for the move/fire/assault or move away option. They tend to be what I send off after the Whirlwinds, but it isn't their primary purpose. Not saying it is the "uber" Aspect unit, but I've found it to be fairly useful, at least locally...

:-) Massed S6 shots (not hits mind, BS 3) I use the 2 War Walkers with 6 Scatter Lasers.... Sometimes they even do something useful...

[Cyberscape7]

Dire Avengers- 2 catapults cause, lets face it, DAs are basically shooty unit
Fire Drags- Firepike. Y would any1 use the flamer?
Banshees-Mirrorswords- It makes the model look graceful and gives it +2 atks
Scorps-Scorpions claw because I accidentally broke the biting blade LOL
Hawks- Sunrifle. 6shots. Pinning. Chance to try out my conversion skills. Nuff said
dark reapers. Tempest Launcher BUT I wish I had used Eldar Rocket launcher. Fast Shot = 2 S8 shots!!

[Gunfighter_IX]

Dire Avengers- 2 catapults cause, lets face it, DAs are basically shooty unit
Fire Drags- Firepike. Y would any1 use the flamer?
Banshees-Mirrorswords- It makes the model look graceful and gives it +2 atks
Scorps-Scorpions claw because I accidentally broke the biting blade LOL
Hawks- Sunrifle. 6shots. Pinning. Chance to try out my conversion skills. Nuff said
dark reapers. Tempest Launcher BUT I wish I had used Eldar Rocket launcher. Fast Shot = 2 S8 shots!!

Dire Avengers can also act as an impressive tarpit unit with the Shimmershield option, especially if buffed with Fortune.

Fire Dragon Exarch with Dragon's Breath Flamer allows large Fire Dragon squads to take on MEQ units, and stack on a large number of wounds with the heavy flamer in addition to 6 or 7 melta shots. It also gives some versatility against hordes. Besides, it's a free upgrade on your Exarch.

Howling Banshee Exarchs seem to benefit more from an Executioner. Banshees suffer from S3 impotence against MEQ and tougher units. The S5 attacks does wonders against Plague Marines and other MEQ units.

As far as the Scorpion Exarch is concerned, you can choose both the Biting Blade and Scorpion's Claw if you wish. It allows you some verstility against different targets in CC.

[davel]

generally exarch war gear comes in 2 flavors those which enhance what the squad does already ( mirror swords, twin linked shurikens)and those which allow it to do some thing different (shimmer shield, dragons breadth).

so in selecting your war gear the question you need to ask your self is. Do you need this squad to succeed in it's roll, or do you need it to be versatile ( often case in tournaments)

Also do you need the wargear at all do you want the exarch for the skills. The skills tend to be of the enhancing variety and tend to be of one of 2 flavours. squad enhance or exarch enhance. The no brainer here is large squads are better with the latter.

Some powers are essential for squads to do their job some are useful others under 5th useless.

DA only wargear not taken often is the dire sword. Its a reasonable cost with it's extra. and does work well with bot exarch powers. DA tend to be in 3 flavours. 1 5 in a tank, blade storm twin shurikens shooty death squad or full powers and shimmer sheild versatile ( for aspect warriors).

ban I tend towards executioner. If you can support with farseer doom then mirrors work fine. squad is in transport of fleeting to makes triskel not worth it. both powers useful not essential but cheap.

scorps with so many marineish armies out there the claw always is my choice. move through cover is essential ( these guys can't afford not to get in to assult. infiltrate can either save you transport points or get a transport out flanking. out flanking the scorps is an expensive gamble.

dragon options are interesting fire pike not seen as often. guess it stops the squad fleeting towards vehicle to assault it or transports just too good at getting the squad in close. tank busters sounds like a good idea but if squad in inclose the double roll means 1 will succeed penetrating it with out it the other skill crack shot is an odd power on anti vehicle weapons it can negate cover save making it a good antimech eldar unit. on the flamer the reroll to wound is useful if the doom seer is not to hand.

spears. strike hard on the charge. when opponent breaks the run them down. Problem their prefered prey tends not to run so a withdraw exarch is essential if you want to use this aspect.

hawks have suffered after 5th sky leap essential every thing else depends on who your up against.

spiders most options useful. surprise assault useless.

reapers missile launcher lends flexibility shuriken cannon would not bother with tempest launcher useful if the squad ends up with nothing to shoot at. skills are dependent on what weapon you have picked. neither are useful the shuriken cannon

Dave l;

[fuzzbuket]

for DA I find that a full ten man squad with a diresword and asurmen is lethal shoot then 2 direswords can kill most things (fave eldar moment 5DA+ asur killed a fully kitted out fex and asur and 1 DA came out unscathed:D)

p.s. anyone else notice new top banner?

[karandras]

I am in the minority in that I generally run a non-mech Eldar army. That being said, I have had success with the following combos...

Dire Avengers - Exarch w/Shimmershield, PW, Defend
(I do not like Bladestorm - it doesn't fit my tactics and this build makes these units ok in hth)

Fire Dragons - Exarch w/Firepike, Tank Hunters, Crackshot
(I like the extra range and ignoring smoke launchers over the heavy flamer!!!)

Dark Reapers - Exarch w/Missle Launcher, Fast Shot
(I like 2 str. 8 shots)

Striking Scorpions - Exarch w/Scorpions Claw, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover
(I like the Power Claw even if it strikes last... but I don't run these guys much since they lost Haywire!!!)

Banshees - Exarch w/Executioner
(Rarely use them... very very very very rarely)

Warp Spiders - Exarch w/PowerBlades, Dual Spinner
(An under utilized unit and they don't need to deep strike to be effective... 3+ armour is nice!)

Swooping Hawks... Just say no!!!
(There is no reason to run this unit!!!)

Shining Spears... Again... Just say no!!!
(Guardian Jetbikes are cheaper and scoring and can take Shuriken Cannons... I've never run Spears)

[scadugenga]

Wow, Chumba, bitter much? :)

They all have their uses:

Dire Avengers: Twin cats, bladestorm if you really want to. 4 bs5 18" cat shots helps a lot. Particularly against horde armies. Personally I avoid the Shimmershield as it negates the model's BS5 (no shooting attacks) and a Str 3 power weapon is next to useless against anything but Guard, Eldar or Tau.

Fire Dragons: Fire Pike, Tank hunters. With a 12" range on the normal guns--you won't be facing much cover, so crack shot isn't as useful. Hvy Flamers--again, something that negates the bonus of a BS 5 is not good. Get a warlock to do that for you with Destructor instead.

Howling Banshees: I personally dig the Triskele. It probably won't do much for you at range, but it does count as a power weapon, so you do have the 1-2 punch combo. Powers for flavor. Neither tend to do much for me. I tend to prefer Scorpions over Banshees.

Striking Scorpions: My favorite Aspect! Exarch w/power claw and/or Biting Blade. Infiltrate power if you want to outflank in a Serpent, but not necessary.

Warp Spiders: Just not as good as they used to be. Spinneret rifle for AP1 rear shooting after a deep strike, but that's about it. Probably not worth the points.

Swooping Hawks: The most neutered Aspect in the 'dex. You could take the Skyleap power to ping-pong pie plates, and maybe contest an objective at end game. But for 132 points (min squad w/skyleap)--that's a full 10 man DA squad w/Exarch (no upgrades) for the same points...

Dark Reapers: Crack Shot to get rid of those pesky cover saves--when combined w/Tempest launcher it's a MEQ killer. Fast shot for out in the open. Reapers just upgraded to a near "must have" to face the new tyranid threat.

Shining Spears: So much fun. I don't understand the hate. Str 6 power weapon attacks on the charge w/Init 5/6 (exarch) And hit&run? And lance weapons w/Str 8 lance for the exarch. Throw a jetbike autarch w/lance in the mix and you've got the nastiest melee charging unit in the dex since the rending nerf. They're pricey, but they've never let me down. Not against Guard, Tau, Necron, Marine or Tyranid foes. Hit & Run is a must. As is the Star Lance. Str8 power weapon at Init 6 kills non-eternal warrior IC's in one shot (barring invlun. saves, of course!)

Go with what you want to run with though. This, like every other post out there, is personal preference showing.

The most important part of using aspect warrior squads is playing to their strengths, and not trying to pigeon hole them into a role they're not suited for.

[Bard of Twilight]

If you are playing Saim-Hann , then irritate your opponent by killing sth that he didn't expect you to, and then , when he makes the mistake to move against them ,deliver the killing blow with some Starlance-Exarh-Shining Spears.

[Lindargo]

Without the abruptness of others here:
DA bladestorm, i take shimmershield as then like to get into fights with Yriel :D
Scorpions: Claw and both abilities
Reapers: depends, take anti-cover ab. and reaper launcher if your going for anti-infantry, missile n other ab. if fighting light vehicles, or take both and ML for -not worth it- amount of points.
hope this helps

- Lindargo