Aaand.. we’re back.
Next up to the plate is Baharroth.
Baharroth is the Phoenix Lord of the Swooping Hawks and has always been a bit hard-done-by as a special character. In the previous edition of the Eldar dex, he didn’t actually have any equipment (bar the armour if you’re being pedantic) that a regular SH exarch couldn’t get his hands on. Stat-wise, he’s not any worse, but her wasn’t particularly great at fighting (great statline, but no Inv save and only a regular power sword) and his shooting wasn’t anything in particular to write home about. I mean 3 S5 shots at BS7 is cool and all, but you could afford an entire squad of Hawks plus an exarch for the cost of the Cry of the Wind. It’s a shame. I quite like him in the background, with his oddly ‘buddy-cop’-esque relationship with Maugan-Ra and his accompanying his friend to save his craftworld. It was neat, but the rules made him unviable unless you were determined to put him in there or wanted to run a Phoenix Court.
Has that changed in 6th?
A bit. But regrettably, probably
not enough. He’s the joint-cheapest of
the Lords (at a pretty hefty 195 points) and comes with a raft of special
rules, just like all the other Phoenix Lords.
Ancient Doom, Eternal Warrior, it’s all there. I checked.
He (unsurprisingly) also comes with the normal Swooping Hawk rules,
allowing pinpoint precision on his deep strikes, which is very useful with one
of his character-specific rules; Sun’s Brilliance. When he deep strikes he inflicts a blind test
on all enemy units within 6”, which is very nice, although highly situational
depending on your opponent’s army.
Nevertheless, if you’re trying to take down some shooty Orks, or the
Tau, the one-two punch of Deep Striking and blinding could be used to great
effect, cementing a role for the guy at last: that of backfield disruptor. Best deployed mid-early in the game, when the
opponent’s assault elements have advanced and his firebases are relatively
undefended. Drop in, grenade stuff,
blind some guys, skyleap away before they’ve recovered. Similarly in this role, assaulting can be
viable option, especially as Hit & Run is part of Baharroth’s repertoire
now.
Equipment wise, you’re packing grenades (haywire &
plasma), the hawk grenade packs, the 2+ save, the wings and the Hawk’s Talon
(Assault 3 S5). You also have a special
melee weapon: The Shining Blade. It’s
not spectacular, as it’s really just a power sword that inflicts Blind. Again, quite situational, but deployed
against the right enemy, very useful, especially when against low I enemy
units, as I think the Blind effect will take place before the return blow can
be struck. This will help them tarpit
otherwise massively superior assault-based forces and is really handy on
occasion. Even when you’re against
Marines, hey, you could get lucky.
Another new thing Baharroth has is Battle Fortune, which
means he finally has an Invulnerable Save! Yay! Obviously, you can’t really
rely on a 4+ save, but it sure as hell is better than the nothing he had
previously. Overall, Baharroth has
definitely taken a step up in usefulness, although I have my doubts he can
bring enough whoop with him to account for his hefty price tag. Nevertheless, he has a viable battlefield
role that doesn’t rely on him being absent for half the game, and that’s got to
be worth something!
Also, while I’m going through the aspects, I should
probably point you in the direction of Rampage’s blog (see the Underlings list
on the right). He’s been going through
the Eldar Codex as well, and seems to be covering a broader scope of units, so
give him a read if you want a different viewpoint on the same units, or to read
an analysis of some of the other Eldar units available. He’s been known to talk sense (on occasion)!
2 comments:
I think not enough emphasis on his grenade pack is given... start on table.. fly high.. he arrives next to a squad of 6 vanilla hawks this will obliterate pathfinders or any high priority annoyance.. 2 templates str4 ... 18 str3 shots plus 3 str 5.. he is really making whatever it is you need gone.. add blind.. whatever was there Well.. now it cant see and its gone.. i see him as a must vs tau
I can agree with that. I hadn't really given a great deal of though to running him on his own for the added pack, which is certainly useful for putting dents in the more lightly armoured firebases. However, it also puts him in significant danger of death through firepower. Admittedly, his armour is very good and the Eternal Warrior inherent in all Phoenix Lords will likely allow him to survive long enough to take the blowback provided you move him to a good fallback position and place him with that in mind to start off with.
If you're willing to sacrifice the points, then using him on his own, reagrdless of other Hawks, as a backfield harrying unit and firepower soak.
The Hawks have been a bit of an odd thing since their inception in the new codex. I just don't see them about much. It's all either Wraiths and Wave Serpents where I am.
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