Eldar vs. Blood Angels Hello, my name is Filip Markovic. I salute all dedicated followers of frenzied assaults, bloody melee and red power armor. I heard that you are pondering the capabilities of a humble Farseer to spell doom upon the proud warriors of the Blood Angels chapter? Well, since most of my battles are furious engagements against your army, you are welcome to hear about my experiences in fighting Blood Angels. What is your constant source of trouble when facing off an Eldar host? Shooting (guardians with support platforms, Dark Reapers, Fire Prism)? Or is it hand-to-hand combat (Howling Banshees, Wraithlord, Avatar)? No. All your problems (and, frankly speaking, the problems of other armies as well) originate in our mobility and speed. The biggest strength of the Eldar is the ability to decide where and when the firefights and melees will be fought. The Fleet of Foot rule, Hawks and Spiders, fast skimmers, jetbikes ? believe me, you do have the appropriate equipment and troops to deal sudden and painful death to every unit in the Eldar army ? if you manage to target it that is. One of my favorite tricks is to deploy two Wave Serpents, each carrying a full squad of aspect warriors, in a remote area of the battlefield. Then I watch my opponent deploy his army with those two primary threat units in mind. Next I gleefully proceed to move the skimmers to the opposite side of the board ? I might waste a turn of two of shooting with my Serpents, but the ensuing chaos in my enemy battle line is well worth it. The wonderful blocking of LoS, slowing down enemy advance in traffic as they try to maneuver into new firing positions, limiting shooting targets ? I won?t list particular tactics or army composition ?combos? ? besides, I usually do not plan out in advance: against a particular opponent, for a particular mission, and I do not try to work out a strategy for each battle. I prefer to put my army together on a whim, depending on my moods [and his army gains a huge advantage due to its unpredictability ? but our battles gain an extra edge in return ? bodycount]. However, if someone really insisted that I make preparations against a Blood Angels army ?there are a few basic elements that I usually keep in mind. 1) Speed! I need the initiative in my hands. I already wrote about that. Each unit, vehicle or character pose a serious threat only in a few spots on the board. Getting the right models into the right place at the right time is the key to securing victory. 2) Your 3+ armor save. If I?m supposed to decide upon and direct the flow of engagement I cannot afford to waste time knocking on your armor with shuriken catapults or close combat weapons. It?s the effectiveness that counts ? a shot or blow need to kill the marine at once. In game terms this translates into getting as many power weapons as possible, and equipping my force with firearms of AP 3 or better. 3) Your BS 4. As much as I hate to say it, but your marines shoot better than the Eldar. That?s why during the battle I try to keep my valuable units out of sight of your army. You can practice your marksmanship on my Guardians or Vipers, but that?s that. 4) Death Company. Usually I face 6 to 8 chaplain?s bodyguards. Usually I enter the cardiac arrest zone at that sight. It?s near impossible to kill them off over distance due to the Ignore Injury rule. And that in turn means that unless an Avatar, Wraithlord or Banshees get in their way they reach hand-to-hand combat and half of my army bites the dust. 5) Eldar troops are mostly highly specialized. The ones that shoot well can?t fight in HtH, the ones that fight well ? you get the picture. For this reason I try to achieve what I call a ?chain of mutual assistance?. It?s pretty simple really ? I combine my units into pairs or threes, so that they can support and complement each other ? Defender Guardians and Avatar, Banshees in Wave Serpent accompanied by a supporting Vyper etc. None (ok, almost none) of my units can act independently. Let?s have a brief look-through at the Codex: Eldar and see what you may come across during your encounters with the Eldar. > Avatar, Wraithlord: under any circumstances you cannot let them reach your lines. They will destroy anything in their path, they will even stop the Death Company. Playing strictly by the rules the Avatar is considered an independent character, which means you cannot shoot it if within six inches from a unit, unless it is the closest target [by then it is usually too late though ; ))) ? bodycount]. Among my friends we have decided to apply the Shoot the Big Ones rule regarding the Avatar, so the daemon is not as powerful as it could possibly be, but be warned ? not everyone is so generous : ))). The Wraithlord is a T8, W3 construct and will not go down easily either. Still you need to cope with both. Wraithlord cannot be hurt by S4 hits, 20 Guardians cannot be broken if next to an Avatar. > Striking Scorpions and Howling Banshees ? the Eldar HtH experts. The Scorpions have S4, more attacks and armor save 3+, and therefore are perfect troops for protracted combats and protecting defensive positions. The Banshees have the whole unit equipped with power weapons ? you are saved by their S3 [define ?saved? Phil : ))) - bodycount)]. 10 Banshees rocks, 5 Banshees is only good to support another unit. > Fire Dragons ? equipped with fusion guns (S6, AP1, range 12?, works like a melta). Do not make the mistake of treating them as anti-armor units. There is a Shooting Phase before the Assault Phase. And your squad may as well evaporate then. > Warp Spiders, Swooping Hawks ? move 12?. Spiders move an additional 2d6? in the Assault phase, Hawks may always Deep Strike. They are at their best when used for cross-fire purposes or claiming table quarters. However, be wary of the Spiders? weapons (S6) ? vehicles with AV 10 are seriously threatened by the fast moving Spiders. The Hawks? Exarch with a power weapon and Sustained Assault power can be dangerous in HtH. > Falcon, Fire Prism, Wave Serpent ? three fast skimmers. The Serpent can carry up to 10 troops (in practice these are usually Aspect Warriors) and has a twin-linked weapon. The Falcon carries up to 6 troops but also has two heavy weapons. The Prism is a powerful artillery system (blast, S9, AP2). It may well happen you won?t be able to target any of these vehicles throughout the whole battle, while they will proceed to rip your army to pieces. The Crystal Targeting Matrix upgrade allows them to fire during the Movement Phase. Move, shoot and hide ? > Vypers, jetbikes ? Vyper is effectively another fast skimmer that provides fire support, while the jetbikes get and an additional move in the Assault Phase. I use them mostly to fight off enemy land speeders and claim table quarters. > Guardians ? Defenders are actually a tank with one heavy weapon and at least 10 wounds. Storms make pretty decent tank hunters (with two fusion guns and haywire grenades), but are less effective fighting enemy infantry. > Farseers, Warlocks ? a slightly different HQ, compared to your characters. They do not make the main offensive punch [yeah right. ever heard of mind war : ))) ? bodycount], but are perfect in supporting and enhancing the abilities of their troops with psychic powers. Subtle yet effective ? an embodiment of the Eldar way of war. > Rangers, Dark Reapers ? infantry be afraid. Be very, very afraid. Ranger sniper rifles easily cause pinning tests, which in turn are failed surprisingly easily. The Reaper Launcher ? well, you know the deal ? By the way, the Exarch can shoot twice per turn with a missile launcher, hitting on 2+ ? There are several units left, which I use very seldom. Wraithguard ? tough and slow, great in defense. Dire Avengers ? slightly better Guardians, can be useful as a supporting unit. Shining Spears ? way too expensive for what they can do. War Walkers ?carry two heavy weapons, but are too slow and have too little armor. Support weapons battery ? funny add-ons, although they can ruin the enemy?s day if they hit well. Shadow Weaver is 48?, S6, AP -, blast, D-cannon is 24? S10, AP2, blast (if it hits anything ? but it usually gets blown off the table before anything gets within those 24?), V-cannon is 36?, S4 but it automatically causes a glancing hit ? in my opinion the most useful of all three. This is what I had to tell about the Eldar army. In my opinion it should be fast, subtle and well-organized, including the ?mutual assistance? system, with slow units (usually armed to the teeth with shooty goodness) ? such as Wraithlord, Guardians or support batteries ? distracting the enemy and drawing incoming fire, while the fast units win the battle. Tactics usually depend heavily on the mission type. If I need to claim quarters or reach the other side of the board or take an objective at the end of the game, you can expect fast skimmers accomplishing the mission in the last turn of the game (I already lost track of how many battles were won this way). In other missions you will most likely encounter a multitude of shooting units, and HtH specialists entering the fray to mop up the survivors ? quick and efficient. Now, what can the Blood Angels do? Well, I don?t want to interfere with your competence ? I have never put together a Blood Angels army ? but I can give you the following advice based on my experience with fighting the Sanguinius chosen. > You need to eliminate the Eldar advantage in speed. If you allow the Eldar to retain the initiative you will most likely lose the battle. Jump Pack troops, transports, land speeders ? that?s your bread and butter. > Watch out for the compulsory sweeping advance ? try to avoid fire traps. What good is destroying a little important unit if your squad ends up in front of the collective gun barrel of the entire Eldar force. > Forget about terminators and bikes. Don?t fall for invulnerable save 5+ or T5. You only provide us with victory points. These are usually small units ? star canon shot or two and you are left with some dismal remains that are pretty useless. > Scouts are great, but only as the second assault wave. > Dreadnoughts ? only the regular ones are useful. Furioso rarely ever makes it to my battle line. > You want heavy support? Then leave Devastators at home and take up some vehicles. Maybe apart from the Vindicator (range too short) and the Land Rider (250 points for AV12 vehicle ? pleeeease ?) > Remember that most of the aspect warriors can hold up in HtH even a couple of turns thanks to their Exarchs Their powers and power weapons : ))) can significantly increase the offensive potential of the entire unit. Kill the Exarch (T3 and W1) and the unit will lose at a large portion of its combat capabilities. > The Eldar are not as fearless as your marines. Kill half of the squad (which should not be that difficult given the relatively small size of Aspect Warriors units) one failed Leadership roll and they?re off the table [remember that units falling back may still fire and that support platforms may move and fire ? watch out for Guardians? units falling back ? bodycount]. I hope I didn?t bore you with my view on the Eldar vs. Blood Angels warfare, and I hope you will make good use of some of the insights covered above. I will gladly accept and discuss any comments you may have. Feel free to e-mail me at philm@poczta.onet .pl Good luck in your battles, Phil
Questions & Answers Q. How do you deal with Seer Councils, with their ability to re-roll their saves and the deadly mindwar. My friend claims that it can be used even when the council is being
assaulted it that true?
A. I would propose:
Answering your second question - you can't use MindWar in hth. This power is treated as shooting weapon. Farseer Phil, craftworld Kir Danaar
Q. Do Ulthwe Farseers have an ability that
doubles the range of their psychic powers such as mind war? Can psi powers
be used while the Farseer is in close combat? Do invulnerable saves apply
to mind war?
A. the double range power is Augment, and yes,
it works for all psychic powers (yes...36" range mind war) some powers
say they count as the shooting phase, those couldn't be used in hand ot
hand, others such as enhance may be able to... ~ Brother Exodus
Q. Do Ulthwe Farseers have an ability that doubles the range of their psychic powers such as mind war? Can psi powers be used while the Farseer is in close combat? Do invulnerable saves apply to mind war? This question is on marine army composition against Eldar. Since most Eldar armies load up on starcannons with only 2 or 3 bright lances, wouldn't LR's and LRC's be good choices. In this same situation wouldn't it seem that assault marines would be a poor choice due to the high number of starcanons? What would be the best marine unit to flush out Eldar tanks, speeders with mmeltas, attack bikes with mmeltas, tornados with assault canons, or typhoons? I have heard about Eldar Ranger armies. Could you describe their composition and tactics for us? ~ Marshall Hans Ubrecht A. 1/ Ulthwe (mindwar question) - somebody else
has already answered you
Farseer Phil - Craftworld Kir Danaar
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