Fighting the Eldar
an in depth essay by WhiteSox
Brother Edward steps to the podium...
Greetings my battle brothers!
A few weeks ago you let me know that you hungered for tactics to use
against the Eldar, well our latest Guest Speaker addressed that issue (my
thanks go out again to Bodycount and Phil!).
I present you now with another honored speaker who has sent us the following
information about fighting the Eldar. Whitesox is a ten year veteran with
the Eldar (though he spells it Elder - I won't even ask why, he's earned
the right to spell it as he wishes!) :) So with no further ado I introduce
Whitesox, with the following insights into fighting the Eldar!
... the lights dim in the hall - a single shaft of light shines down
upon the podium where Whitesox stands, and speaks....
How to deal with Elder
I have been asked by Brother Edward to write a tactics article on the
elder
and what tactics Blood Angel players use to deal with them.
The elder is like a fine surgical knife compared to the brunt hammer
of
imperial tactics. The army is quite hard to use but once they're are
mastered they're very intimidating. They allow no leeway for mistakes
because if one is made then the elder player is surely doomed. I have
learnt
this lesson myself many a times. The key to a successful elder army
is speed
and fire power. The nemesis of all blood angel players. They specialise
in
choosing the fights and dismantling the enemy bit by bit. They also
have
some of the best anti marine units out there...(reapers...to name but
one).
The best way to beat a well-organised elder army is to have plenty
of back
up for each unit. This is because if any unit in your army gets separated
from the rest of it you can bet the elders high speed and great firepower
can easily set about destroying that unit. Everyone knows that the
elders
main weakness is its low toughness and relatively low armour but units
in
the army can supplement this weakness. Fortune for example can greatly
increase a unit's staying power. Where the elder is most impressive
is
Medium to close range. With this I mean 12 inch to 36. You'll find
the elder
do not have many units which can fire over this so if you're playing
on a
big board take advantage of this. There nothing worse then seeing a
devastator squad with missile launchers and lascannons shooting at
your
reapers while the reapers themselves are out of range... (P.S. excuse
my
biased opinion I just don't like you mon keigh lol). But the key to
beating
elder is to make sure you have enough units to shoot at each of the
elders
units... Elder specialise in using the terrain to shield there attacks
and
make units in your army redundant since they cant see anything to shot
or
assault. With these general points raised on the elder I will look
at each
unit in turn, how I use them, what stops them and good tactics against
them.
Knowledge is power remember that.
HQ
The elder have 2 great HQ's which do there designated jobs really well.
They're both hard to kill if used right and they both have great benefits
to
an army.
AVATAR
In my opinion the best value for points model in the game at only 80
points
its guaranteed to do more points damage to you.
This unit I use in my centre of attack I normally attach it to my dire
avenger squad to give it some more oomph in assault. The models inspiring
which gives it extra assault bonus and it's fearless what more do you
want?
It high toughness of 6 and 5+ invulnerable save means it can survive
a fair
whack of attacks. Very recently I joined the avatar to a farseer and
its
bodyguard unit and saw the effects of enhance and fortune on this
creature... very scary but nice lol. You'll find its mainly used in
central
assaults because its low speed doesn't allow it to come up the flank
that
well... If it does just avoid it easily done.
The way to kill this unit is simply shooting. High strength with bad
AP
makes short work of it. If his with a squad take out the unit before
the
avatar so you can target more shots against it. Don't waste shots on
it from
the off set take out its support instead. The unit it is with can do
more
damage trust me.
DOES... shoot with heavy bolters, auto cannons, assault cannons, sniper
rifles and other STR 6 weapons. A model in a squad with a thunder hammer
can
take it out easily, give a serge a thunder hammer and storm shield
that's 4
str 8 attacks needing 5's to hit and 2's to wound. 1 wound and its
a sitting
duck next turn. No attacks back muahahaha
DONTS... waste bolters (shoot its bodyguard with them instead) or any
other
low STR shots. The elder plays loves it when marines waste shots on
there
tough guys when they could be taking out swarms of other units instead
that's what the avatars there for.
Remember an Avatar when alive can hold together an Elder battle line.
It
makes all units within 12" fearless when in Close Combat remember this
if
you're wanting to have a quick breakthrough because its not going to
happen
when his alive.
FARSEER & BODYGUARD
He is a great character but his main weakness is close combat with 2
attacks
at most which wounds on 2's he isn't very hard. Try to engage him at
the
very earliest and the ensuing combat will be short and sweet
DOES... assault with guys such as tactical marines or even better the
nemesis of farseers and warlocks terminators... with str 8 instant
kills
always and a 2+ save those witch blades are useless... Use a Librarian
with
a Psychic Hood and put an end to his spell casting days.
DON'TS... assault with specialised assault squads. They may win but
they're
can be a lot more effective in other combats. Power weapons are useless
and
so are any squads with high toughness and low armour... you'll see
why
Remember half of the Farseers powers don't work in CC because they count
as
shooting. That's his main weakness exploit it!!! Because his powers
can be
extremely devastating if he is left to it. Remember Mind War needs
LOS. use
this to protect your characters.
My farseer normally accompanies a bodyguard of warlocks or in lower
point's
games dire avengers... He isn't tooled up because I have a swordwind
army
who focuses more of aspect warriors. But he is still very useful and
a great
asset to all elder armies.
So HtH him with well armoured troops or have lots of rapid firing side
arms
like bolters to take them out single high str shots don't normally
get past
the Rune armour with Fortune. So don't waste them!!!!
ELITES
These units are what normally cause marine players the most trouble.
They
not that expensive but very inflexible they can do what they're designed
for
great but anything else they just literally @#%$ at it.
FIRE DRAGONS
These are not mainly tank hunters they're also great elite killers.
This
unit can turn any unit in your army no matter how high priced to slag
before
you know it and there melta bombs allow them to take out tanks quite
easily
as well. Shoot them before they get too close or even better assault
them.
They are extremely bad in HtH combat bar the Exarch but that'll only
be one
of the models in the whole unit.
DOES. Engage in HtH when they'll die quite easily. Remember your 24"
bolters
can take them out before they can get within there 12".
DONTS. Allow your elites or any other high point cost units to get
caught
out by them. Or allow any vehicle to be assaulted by them apart from
fully
operational dreadnoughts.
HOWLING BANSHEES
These are monsters in HtH especially if they get to charge. They are
burdened by there low strength but the Exarch can make up for this.
They're
armed with power weapons which make them that much more lethal. Don't
engage
them in HtH unless you out number them at least. The best Tactic against
this unit is to have one of your units as bait. When the Banshees charge
fall back after the assault and open fire with your back up units behind
them. That's the fun of Sweeping Advance. A unit of 5 scouts does this
extremely well. Scouts normally can survive a Banshee charge due to
their
high toughness and if they have close combat weapons they're normally
have
enough attacks to cut up some Banshees in the process. The Banshee
masks
make this unit always gets there Power Weapon attacks in a Close Combat.
Beware of this. If you are going to assault them just remember to out
number
them and you'll be ok.
DOES. Shoot them before they assault to whittle their numbers down.
Scouts
work great against this unit
DONTS. Allow them to assault if push comes to shove you should deny
them the
+1 attack and you should use the initiative.
STRIKING SCORPIONS
While the banshees are great against low numbers of elite's the scorpions
are the choice for the masses. There high armour and high strength
make sure
they're going to last a while in HtH. The extra attack they have also
helps
out as well. The best units to take care of scorpions are units with
power
weapons or very good armour. Since only the Exarch can have a power
weapon
you'll find good armour saves the day on your half. Death Company is
great
for this while the chaplain leading them takes care of the Exarch.
Remember
Death Company are more then a match for Scorpions. Also beware of the
infiltrating Scorpions with their haywire grenades they can quite easily
kill any tank and their ability to charge in the 1st or 2nd turn is
tremendous. A tactic I use is for them to assault devastators or other
stand
back and shooty units. Beware of this unless you want your heavy weapons
made redundant.
DOES. Charge them with squads with power weapons you'll need it against
these due to the better armour they have.
DONTS. Allow them to charge any but your specialist. They worse against
marines then banshees but the extra attack and higher strength makes
them
just as dangerous.
WARP SPIDERS
They bad against marines so don't fear them. They come into there own
against orks and such. They'll only cause a nuisance to your assault
they
won't inflict too many casualties due to your good armour. Easy victory
points for you. Assault them or just bolter them to death like you
would any
other aspect warriors.
DOES. Assault them or just tie them up.
DONTS. Allow them to hunt down your light vehicles they're really good
at
this.
WRAITHGUARD
These are slow very tough and have a very short range I don't use them
much
due to the high points cost. They're best avoided until you're able
to get a
good assault path in. They tough but a properly prepared assault squad
can
quickly deal with them especially with the +1 str on the charge. Avoid
the
Wraith Cannons with your characters because the insta kill is just
so great
against them.
DOES. Assault with specialised squads or Termies they'll tear them apart.
They tough but not against the Blood Angel Specialists. Target the
Warlock
leading them and you'll be surprised at how many wraith sights the
elder
player will fail.
DONTS. Allow them to shoot at your high priced elites. Remember they
have a
range of 12" that's all use jump packs or Rhinos to engage so they
don't
have the chance to assault. Waste bolters or similar on them use these
against the guardians or even better the aspect warriors.
TROOPS
The bread and of the Elder. I'm a Beil Tann player so my Troops are
Aspect
Warriors but I'll go with the Standard force organisation chart. The
elder
has 3 distinct Troop choices.
SCOUTS
I love these I always field them they're best used against single targets
such as other Wraithlords or Talos. They get +1 to cover saves and
they're
expensive.. But they're great for pinning units. The best way to deal
with
these is Frag Missiles or Flamers. If you want to be really mean opt
for a
whirlwind or two.. These are lethal wiping out whole units in one go.
These
3 weapons ignore cover saves so they're basically as easy to kill as
guardians without their cameo-cloak bonus. They work best at causing
a
nuisance don't let them do that. Or you may find you're attacks breaking
up
and getting wiped out bit by bit wipe.
DOES. Use templates to get rid of there cover saves.
DONTS. Direct whole portions of your army to assault them.
DIRE AVENGERS
These are my backbone of my army they're more tough then guardians but
they
still die easily compared to marines. They cheap so you can have a
lot of
them but they have a really short range with no support weapon option.
They
can only get their points worth when they shoot you. Don't let them
Jump
packs are Avengers worst nightmare because careful positioning can
make the
shuriken catapults redundant before you assault.
DOES. Assault them or blast them to bits with bolters or heavy bolters
DONTS. Let them get within 12" with their shuriken catapults with that
mass
of fire even marines quickly perish.
GUARDIANS
These I don't use too often due to my swordwind theme. They are basically
used to bulk out the elder size of the army. The option of weapon platforms
makes them so much more powerful. Deal with these in assault where
it
becomes so easy or just use bolters to whittle them down. Remember
marines
have access to lots of weapons that makes the elders armour redundant.
Remember this!!!
DOES. USE Bolters!!! They a guardian's worst nightmare 3's to wound
and kill
is great.
DONTS. Let them get in 12's if they're defenders or allow them to assault
vehicles if they're storm guardians because Haywire grenades make short
work
of even Land Raiders.
HEAVY SUPPORT
The elder has some of the best Heavy support units in the game. They
normally have loads of firepower with the speed associated with elder.
WRAITHLORD
Ok this is the toughest elder unit so yes it is going to be hard to
kill.
Its toughness 8 and 3 wounds with a 3+save does give it survivability
but it
has quite a few weaknesses which marine players seem to over look quite
often.
1. Speed. It is the slowest elder unit in the game easily avoided if
need be
you find it speed only allows it to attack centrally so that means
more guns
can shoot at it [:)]
2. Only 3 attacks at WS 4. This is ok but when faced with big units
its a
nightmare.
3. Big target need I say more??
The way to deal with a wraithlord is simple have a few units with a
model in
it with a thunder hammer. One wound and it can't attack back next turn.
Remember it cant target individual models in squads so as long he is
a basic
model he can kill him till right at the end [:)] so you charge a unit
of say 8
marines into contact one has the thunder hammer. The WL kills maybe
2
marines the serge score a wound on average = useless wraithlord next
turn
and sitting duck so you keep on doing this and in 3 combats phases
dead
wraithlord. At a cost of 2 marines 3 if his lucky...
DOES... Use vehicles such as Predator annihilators with 3 lascannons
shooting at it will take out a wraithlord too easily just go and see.
Use Sniper rifles. These buggers are a nightmare. Wounding on 4's always!!!!
Take some see the elder play squirm.
Only shoot wraithlord with str 8 weapons don't waste any thing else
on it
that what we want you lot to do.
DONTS... Engage in HtH with units that can't harm it unless you want
to bog
it down with cheap expendable troops.
Waste too much time shooting it. Wraithlords are there to direct fire
to
them and allow the rest of the army to survive longer.
Its a good unit but there are far better heavy support choices in our
list
then them.
FALCON GRAV TANKS
The best unit in my eyes
Far better then any thing else it can transport troops and have a heavy
array of weapons. It also has the speed, which make the elder so great.
Ok make this priory number 1!!!! Take them out don't bother with WL
or
avatars yes they're hard but the buggers these babies transports will
do a
lot more damage if they reach there destination unharmed trust me they
win
me countless games. You could leave these for a turn or two but if
you leave
it too late in destroying them you may find you've lost the game before
you
know it. Make them a high priory and always watch out for them (crossfire
is
a great tactic of mine when I use them lol) shoot them with lascannons
and
keep on shooting them because if they're don't crash and burn you'll
be
burning the next turn. If they're have holofields they're twice as
durable
but don't give up shooting them keep on doing it. Treat them like you
would
treat land raider crusader and that is what it acts like in an elder
army.
The best way to deal with skimmers is to shoot it when it hasn't moved
over
6" to do this glance and hopefully you'll get a crew shaken which means
one
floating skimmer which cant move over 6" next turn and easy prey.
DOES. Take out using weapons such as lascannons. Eventually one of those
glancing hits will turn it into a burning wreck.
If possible take out on your first turn before it moves so you can
get those
Holy Grail penetrating hits.
DONTS. Allow it to make its destination with its cargo or you'll woe
the day
you didn't kill it.
Waste weapons, which have strength of less then 8 on it. They can be
put to
better use on things such as War Walkers or Dark Reapers.
WAR WALKERS
These are the ultimate fire power unit but they're extremely flimsy...
shoot
these before they can shoot you is all I have to say. They really easy
to
kill but the firepower they can aim back is frightening. Star cannons
in a
unit is not nice believe me... Units that are good to deal with these
are
mobile firepower. Attack bikes and land speeders are great for this.
Make
them the War walker hunter killer. All you need is a STR 8 weapon like
a
Missile launcher or similar and it can tear through its armour 10 Defences.
I don't use them much but they're mainly used in slower hard-hitting
elder
armies and situated in the centre. They can be expensive as well but
if you
don't deal with them they get their points back in droves. Get rid
of these
ASAP. Remember they're 100 points each so a sacrificed Land Speeder
hunting
it down is points well spent.
DOES. Take out early with units such as Land Speeders designed to hunt
them
down.
DONTS. Allow them to shoot back. (Easier said then done)
SUPPORT PLATFORMS
Ok treat these like any artillery they're static and cost loads of points
but they can be great offensively. Remember that only 2 guardians operate
them so a round of bolter fire takes them out easily. Not a unit I
use to
often easy to kill but they can kill a lot in return just be wary if
this
unit.
DOES. Take them out early with small arm fire; remember its only guardian
crew.
DONTS. Allow them to control the battlefield by breaking up attacks
or
pinning units have units such as Land Speeders with assault cannons
or Heavy
bolters to take them out.
FIRE PRISM
I really do not rate this unit it is 120 points for a vehicle which
will
only be hitting half of the game with a template. So a 6 turn game
that's 3
plasma cannon templates, which will kill anything under, but that's
if it
doesn't get killed before hand. When coming across one I find it is
just a
nuisance. I prefer Falcons and Wave serpents more. The model however
is
great so it's worth taking one just on that behalf. The best way to
deal
with skimmers is to shoot it when it hasn't moved over 6" to do this
glance
and hopefully you'll get a crew shaken which means one floating skimmer
which cant move over 6" next turn and easy prey.
DOES. Kill it when you get close to it. Don't waste your long-range
firepower on it. Theirs a lot better targets for that.
DONTS. Spend too many resources to kill it. It can do damage but not
its
point cost just look at it like it's a mobile lascannon with a template.
DARK REAPERS aka THE ANTI MARINE UNIT.
A good tactic against these is to have a cheap character in high priory
marine units with artificer armour. When the dark reapers shoot lets
say 5
dr. 5 dr = 10 shots, 10 shots = 7 hits. 3's to wound = 5 wounds that
equals
5 dead marines or 5 armour saves on guy. 5 2+ armour saves mean he
should
survive if not then that's a 35p model with a 20 point upgrade dead
= 55
points compared to 75 points of marines or if the character has multiple
wounds even better.... Trust me it works...
Use cover as much as you can against these. What they can't see they
can't
kill. Also remember the range is 48" of the reaper launchers have a
few
lascannons or a whirlwind can take them out quite easily while keeping
out
of their range or out of sight. If shooting doesn't work against them
take
rhino mounted troops that way they're protected against them unless
they get
a lucky hit. And charge them in cc ASAP and watch them die in droves...
rhino mounted troops is a dark reapers worst nightmare.
Exarch. The Exarch for the Dark Reapers is a shooting monster a fast
shooting Krak missile launcher can be a pain for your Rhino mounted
troops.
While 2 plasma templates a turn can quickly reduce anything but the
best-armoured troops to ashes. Luckily you wont see many of these monsters
on the battlefield at any one time due to the high points costs but
any
Exarch in a squad practically doubles there killing powers. More reasons
to
make this squad a high priority target.
DOES. Use transports to shield your troops from there fire. Also use
infiltrators such as scouts to hunt them down. Remember heavy bolter
and
assault cannons kill them far too easily. Failing that use the cover
provided to you.
DONTS. Allow them to pick off your squads one by one engage at the
earliest.
FAST ATTACK
SWOOPING HAWKS
One of my personal favourite units. They can deep strike so you don't
know
when they're gonna turn up, they drop an ordnance style grenade when
they do
and they have assault 2 range 24 lasguns!!! They're easy to kill with
bolter
so use these to great effect.
Exarch. This is a Close combat monster when he has all the Exarch powers
and
a power weapon. He can end up with absolutely loads of attacks. Take
him out
from far.
DOES. Shoot them with bolters or even better Heavy bolters. They're
great
against elder. Try to ignore them when you're making a concentrated
attack.
DONTS. Let their Exarch get in HtH. Allow them to break your attacks
up or
divert your actions because this is what they do best.
VYPERS
These units are great. They are very much the same as Land Speeders
but
with better weapons and less durability. They are great for hunting
down
enemy tanks or elites. Weapons such as Assault cannons and plasma guns
take
them out easily. Remember they're skimmers AND open topped!!! With
armour 10
they're just so easy to kill if you can see them. They're cheap in
cost as
well which makes them quite numerous. They operate in 2's or 3's so
beware.
The best way to deal with skimmers is to shoot it when it hasn't moved
over
6" to do this glance and hopefully you'll get a crew shaken which means
one
floating skimmer which cant move over 6" next turn and easy prey.
DOES. Take them out with single medium strength weapons like assault
cannons. Units such as Attack Bikes or Speeders again work wonders
killing
these.
DONTS. Let them live too long because if they get to survive past turn
3 you
may find you have nothing left to destroy them. Also don't assault
them if
you can because with armour 10 and possibly 6's to hit you may find
that
assault wasted.
JETBIKES & SHINING SPEARS
These units are in my eyes a waste of points. I much prefer Vypers or
Swooping Hawks to these. Treat them like you would treat marines to
kill
i.e. Toughness 4, 3+ save. They can do damage but they are very hard
to use
right and if you're not lucky with them they're not going to get there
points cost. Just be thankful that the points weren't used to get more
falcons or reapers.
DOES. Assault. They're very easy to kill in hand to hand. Try it. especially
with Blood Angels you'll have a treat.
DONTS. Waste heavy weapons on them.
TRANSPORT
WAVE SERPENT
This is a nasty unit with twin linked bright lances say good bye to
any Land
Raiders in your army. What's nastier then this is what it transports
that's
why you should target it with any anti tank weapons you many have.
The best
way to deal with skimmers is to shoot it when it hasn't moved over
6" to do
this glance and hopefully you'll get a crew shaken which means one
floating
skimmer which cant move over 6" next turn and easy prey. Remember what
can
be inside these and you'll realise why you need to watch it crash and
burn.
DOES. Target with any str 8 weapons you can remember it can't have the
holofield so it is still quite easy to kill with the right equipment.
DONTS. Allow it to survive with 10 aspect warriors inside you'll realise
why. Target any ordnance or very high str weapons at it when a str
8 Krak
missile does the same job.
DEBRIEFING
The elder is a hard army to face against while using Blood Angels I
wont
deny that. It normally makes for extremely entertaining games at least.
The
way to beat elder is to get in assault quicker then normal and while
suffering as little causalities as well. Jump packs and Rhinos are
your best
friends remember them. Also have a few units of attack bikes and speeders.
They great for hunting down the fast elder units and they can almost
always
get there points cost back. If you having trouble with the big tough
elder
units get a few thunder hammers in there. Thunder Hammer Termies are
more
then a match for an avatar or wraithlord. Remember with the correct
planing
any army can beat ANY other army. Also make sure your assaults work
out
don't leave your self in the open in front of an entire elder army
it
doesn't work out well. The essential units to be taken by a Blood Angel
Army
are the following against elder.
Librarian
With Psychic Hood
For taking out the farseers psychic powers.
Chaplain with jump packs
With death company
Just for the speed and killing ability.
Tactical Squads
In Rhinos
Just for the survivability.
Scouts
Great in assault and can hold up even the specialised assault units.
2 Whirlwinds
They get their cost worth back many times over against elder.
1 Annihilator with Lascannons
For the Falcons or Wraithlords
As many Attack bikes or even better Land Speeders as possible.
NEVER take the following because you'll be gifting the elder player
easy
victory points.
Land raider Vs bright lance. nuff said
Vindicator. Range 24" what the point when you can have 2 whirlwinds
instead
which kills just as easily.
High point units with not many models. Elder love these units a few
AP1 str
6 fusion guns later and you'll see why.
Remember Heavy bolters are an anti elder player's dream. Thunder hammers
can
also put a tear in an elder player's eye when an avatar or wraithlord
can
attack back. The elder armies work best when they divide and conquer
a Blood
Angel Assault. When the assault wave gets bogged down or diverted it
is not
good for you! Have as much back up for each unit as possible be single
minded and the assault will succeed. Use cover as much as possible
then
super charge your Rhino engines and let the smoke launchers off just
before
the turn you assault. When targeting elder units don't waste shots
on
targets when the chances are very slim to causing harm.. I.e. Shooting
heavy
bolters at Wraithlords when if it was targeted at Banshees instead
you could
easily kill 2. The worst thing you can do against elder is wasting
your
shots. Every bolter counts because if you don't manage to pick your
targets
wisely you'll lose quite simple.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING AGAINST ELDER IS NOT TO WASTE YOUR SHOTS REMEMBER
THIS.
===Shaun Paterson AKA Whitesox out===
About the author lol. I have been playing 40k since 1992/3 I started
with
the elder and I'm still with the elder. I have used other armies such
as
Space Wolves and Blood Angels in that time but I always come back to
the
pointy-eared folk. I'm from the north of England so there is a rich
gaming
culture here and I'm never hard pressed to find opponents. Hope this
has
given some insight into how to deal with the elder and makes games
against
them in the future a lot more fun.
|
