IntrAspection - Maugan Ra

And now we have Maugan Ra, in all his 80s glory. Just look at those shoulder pads! Fethin’ ridiculous, but utterly glorious.

Back in 5th, he held the joint top spot for Phoenix Lords in my mind and also held a rarefied distinction of being a decent ranged special character.  Seriously, there are so few of these around, which is strange given that that it’s the bloody future and all, but nearly all special characters come in the ‘force modifier’ or ‘assault monster’ categories.  There are so few that focus extensively on shooting beyond, y’know, just owning a pistol.  We’ve got this guy, Telion, Illic Nightspear, and a smattering of Tau characters.  No, I’m not counting ‘Tank upgrade guys’.  Just because, that’s why.

Anyway, Maugan Ra has the usual Phoenix Lord stats and rules, so it’s a quality statline to build on.  He pack the typical 2+ armour save of his ilk, but wields one of the coolest weapons in the game (as far as I’m concerned), the Maugetar.  This is an upgrade shuriken cannon with a big damn blade attached to the end.  The upshot is that it fires four shots a turn at 36” range at S6, AP 5 and not only Rends, but Pins as well.  In close combat, it allows Maugan to strike at S6, AP3 which makes him a worthy assault opponent was well.

What special rule have we got going for him then?  He has the usual barrage of Phoenix rules (Eternal Warrior, Fleet, Ancient Doom, etc) but also packs Relentless (pointless as his weapon is an Assault one) and Hatred (Chaos Daemons), which kind of renders Ancient Doom pointless as well.  Yay redundancy!  Joking aside, it’s nice when the special rules tie into a characters back story nicely, and Maugan Ra having rescued his home craftworld from the warp is nice justification for that bit of flavour.  I approve.  His compulsory warlord trait give him split fire if he’s your warlord, which is definitely good for a primarily ranged character.

His Exarch powers are where things get synergistic though.  Night Vision is cool, but unremarkable otherwise.  Just a basic utility power in the right place.  The next two are the fun ones.  We have Fast Shot, increasing the Maugetar to five shots a turn and Marksman’s Eye, allowing him to snipe on 5s instead of 6s.  You are quite likely to get two precision hits a turn with this guy and it is here where he shines.  Try not to try to snipe Independent Characters, but aim for upgrade guys in the squad.  Special Weapons, Heavy Weapons, banner bearers, that kind of thing.  Even his overflow shots can be quite effective in suppressing a squad, although it works better against the non-power armour types.

He helps out other dark reapers (obviously) but will bring more benefits to other ranged squads.  His gun is slightly shorter ranged than the DR standard and will probably want to hunt for different targets as (without the heavy shot upgrade) he’s better at dealing with medium vehicles that his disciples.  That said, he can split fire, so that’s not necessarily going to pose much of a problem.  He could also be a bit of an assault deterrent for backfield harrying forces.  I think he is at his best when accompanying a big old Defender squad.  They benefit greatly from his Fearless rule and he’ll benefit from the ablative bodies in the squad whilst firing at whatever is out of range for the rest of the squad.  He will also get a boost from the Warlock powers, if one of them makes it into the squad as well, so I’d say that would be a good fit.  For a laugh you could always stick him in a ranger squad though!  He’ll get benefits from the Stealth rule and he looks for similar targets, so that’s an interesting little combo.

And that’s pretty much it for him.  He’s a simple guy really, but what he does he can do well.  He’s a hyper-accurate assault cannon on legs and I love him for it!

IntrAspection - Dark Reapers

And on with the next target.  Back when I used to play Eldar, Dark Reapers were a common choice for me.  I would usually take a small squad of them and an Exarch.  The regular Reapers were okay for the odd bit of marine hunting and duelling with devastator squads, but the main reason I took them was for the Exarch.  Tempest Launder and Crack Shot was a winning combo against many armies.  The Tempest Launcher wiped out marine armour (two blasts at S4 AP3) and the Crack Shot allowed a reroll on the blast (and with a BS of 5, it wasn’t often needed) and most importantly denied cover saves.  This was fairly brutal, but it often felt like I had to spend too much on regular aspect warriors to gain the benefit of that one combo.  So, have the Dark reapers shifted for the better in the new Codex?

Well, the first thing that jumps out is the pricing, as with so many of these units.  The Reapers have taken a significant 5 point downgrade in price; undeniably useful for such an expensive unit.  They haven’t suffered for their reduction either.  Much of the equipment remains the same, at least in stat line.  The armour is the same.  The special weapons (missile launcher, Tempest Launcher, Shuriken Cannon) are all the same, with the obvious Bladestorm upgrade to the shuriken. The Reaper Launcher is the same, granting you two shots at S5 and AP3 for your marine hunting.  All good.  However, the launchers have an upgrade option.  For +8pts per model, you can give them a S8 AP3 pinning Heavy 1 shot option, allowing them to far more efficiently deal with vehicles.  What also can help in that regard is a new piece of wargear that the squad get gratis: the Reaper Rangefinder.  With this doohickey, Jink saves can no longer be taken against your shots.  True; a lot of the time, that’s not going to amount to a hillock of legumes, but against other Eldar, bike armies or (best of all), the Dark Eldar, this could be an invaluable asset.

When we approach special rules, we find another nice addition.  The Dark Reapers now have Slow and Purposeful.  The bad news is that this cancels out the tactically flexible Battle Focus and eliminates the chance to fire overwatch, but on the plus side, being able to move and shoot at full effect is a great boon to this unit, for those times when the enemy are hanging around just outside that 48” range.  Other than that, they’re about the same in the special rules department.

But what of the old Exarch?  He still exists, naturally, and follows the standard +10pts upgrade pattern.  Weapon wise you can give him a Shuriken Cannon, a Missile Launcher and the Tempest Launcher (the latter two for a few more points).  However, the skills have shifted a little, as in common for all Exarchs.  Night Vision is available for 5pts.  Very useful for the occasional night fighting scenario, especially as it comes cheap at 5pts and (if memory serves) convey on to the rest of the squad as well.  Fast Shot is here as well and at 10pts is also hard to argue with, considering the ordnance at play in the unit.  There’s not really any weapon option that this doesn’t fit nicely with, although it probably ties in nicest with the Tempest Launcher.  And we also have Marksman’s Eye, which allows precision shots on a 5+.  This has its charms to be sure.  The idea of wiping out sergeants and captains with precision S8 will always be appealing.  To me though, the first two have the edge over Marksman’s Eye for general utility, although you could easily argue that Night Vision won’t come into play as often as Marksman.  Still, it’s a very good line-up of power choices and certainly one of the most easily matched out of the Exarch powers in the codex.

So, in all, they’re a touch cheaper and are capable of taking on many different targets, with the exception of the heaviest armour.  They have more mobility than before and, given the number of bike and skimmer armies hanging around, their ability to ignore jinking is hard to argue with.  On the downside, they are still quite expensive, and still quite brittle, even with the 3+ save.  If you’re going to field them (and there are many good arguments to do just that), you’ll need to position something else threatening to take some of the heat off them.  They should be able to stay out of range of the small arms, but will fall as easily to anything else with the big guns.  And my favourite combo is gone.

Final thought: I like ‘em.  Could have just said that and save myself 800 words, really.  Oh well…

IntrAspection: Warp Spiders

Back in the dark days of fifth edition, there were precious few aspect warriors about with exception of the near ubiquitous Dire Avenger Vehicle upgrade.  Not quite as cheap as the Gretchin upgrade, but close.  However, one aspect was eking out a few showings and growing a bit in popularity in my local area, and that was the Warp Spiders.  The Fast Attack section of the old Eldar codex was not tremendously popular, with most things being less than entirely worth the points, especially as Jetbikes and Wave Serpents were as manoeuvrable as anything else you could find there.

Nevertheless, I would quite often see small Warp Spider strike squads.  They were mainly tasked with cracking light vehicles and taking on small isolated squads on foot.  With the speed and trickery of the jump generators and a wealth of S6 weaponry, they had a fairly versatile tool set, but a significant price tag.  In the new codex, one of those things has now been got rid of.  And it’s not the equipment…

Okay, let’s start with the big obvious point.  Much like with the Swooping hawks, the price of the Spiders has gone down by a bit, although not as much the Hawks.  However, this is counterbalanced by the tweaks to their equipment.  They’re packing the normal 3+ Aspect Warrior armour now, although Fleet of Foot is now an option for them. Yes I know it’s a special rule rather than a piece of equipment, but their lacking of Fleet was so often attributed to their heavy armour, I feel the two are close enough linked to one another to warrant mention.  The Warp Jump Generator has been changed as well.  It used to be just another name for a jump pack with a bonus move in the assault phase (which could result in a squad casualty if a double was rolled).  Now however, it’s just another name for a jet pack with a bonus move in the Movement Phase (which could result in a squad casualty if a double was rolled).  See the difference?

All snark aside, this is actually a major change in movement style, resulting in almost unparalleled movement for infantry.  The jet pack ruling reduces the distance in the movement phase to only 6”, but as a payoff allows a 2D6” free move during the assault.  This assault move is now risk free for the Spiders and combined with the ever-useful and tricksy Battle Focus allows for a lot of hit and run style to the unit.  The big jump in the movement phase allows the squad to shift itself 6+2D6” instead, with the usual risk of losing a random squad member.  Using this you average slightly faster movement speeds when you need to book it and if you pack all the speed tricks together, you get a unit that has the potential to get itself 3 feet down the board in a single turn.  Admittedly, as often as that can happen, you could find yourself only moving 11”, but that’s still not exactly slow compared to most of the other units in the game.  Whether or not you want to risk that guy for the burst of speed is entirely up to you, as that casualty could be your exarch, and that could be a bit of a nad-punch.  But that’s really unlikely to happen, right?

The weaponry, at least in stat line, is pretty much the same, but now we have the Monofilament rule, which is kind of like Bladestorm, but has an AP1 on a 6 to wound instead of AP2 (why?).  At least this adds a point of Strength to the weapon if the target has an Initiative less than 4.  Luckily, this includes vehicles, further ramping up the ability of the Spider to take on the light vehicles, especially as AP- doesn’t negatively inflict on rolls on the vehicle damage table now.  In fact, land behind a heavy Russ, and you’ll probably still bring it down with a decent size squad of guys.  This rule makes them excellent for handling most vehicles (given proper positioning) and elites high armour infantry, also kitting out nicely for a bit of monster hunting.  A lot of versatility and manoeuvrability here.

The exarch gets the usual Spider toys, although the twin spinner is now just twin-linked.  It used to be Assault 4 instead.  Shame.  The Spinneret Rifle has taken a bit of an upgrade, benefitting from the Monofilament rule, but changing from Assault 1 to Rapid Fire.  It’s definitely useful to have a long as you’re guaranteed to bust Terminator armour and get a +2 on vehicle damage, but as to whether you want to pay 15 points for that guarantee, I can’t say.  Powerblades are still there, giving the Exarch some AP3 melee strikes and an extra weapon.  20 points is quite expensive though.  If nothing else, I’d be tempted to get another Spider and hope to ride out the combat better until Hit & Running away at the end of the phase, but I can see the benefit of the extra AP3 punch, certainly.

We have couple of new special rules to bear in mind as well.  For a start, Hit & Run is standard now, rather than an Exarch upgrade.  As even a couple of spiders can cause major problems for vehicles, this is a great rule to bear in mind if the opponent tries to bog them down in assault.  Everything else for them is the usual stuff that nigh on all Eldar have now (Ancient Doom, Battle Focus and Fleet).  Now we get to exarch powers, all of which are ten points apiece.  Fast shot certainly has its place, working to its best when combed with a Spinneret Rifle and making the most of that AP1, but is still nice to have for the regular spinner.  Marksman’s Eye is another useful one (again, best with the spinner) as sniping out sergeants and special weapons is a highly useful trait when used smartly.  Combined with fast shot, you are highly likely to get a precision shot every round of firing.  Handy.  Finally, we have Stalker (the reroll to wound on a successful opposed Initiative test).  Personally, I wouldn’t bother with this one.  You don’t want to be in combat and are ideally equipped to either avoid it or escape it.  I’d think about better spends for those points (like either of the other exarch powers).

So that’s the brief run down.  Again, they are very strong contenders for the Fast Attack slot and the only thing stopping them from seeing more play time is the competition they have in that Force Org slot.

IntrAspection: Shining Spears

Now these guys are a bit of an oddity.  They have definitely (bar one particular area) improved significantly from 5th edition, but most of that is down to the edition change rather than the new codex.  Should I just restrict this appraisal to the changes specifically brought by the new dex?  Probably not.  I think it'd be best to address them as a whole and do quick overview on how the new edition and newer codex have dovetailed quite nicely.

Now, I said that they had improved bar one area, and that area combat versus 2+ saves.  In 5th, they could deal with Terminators and the like swiftly and efficiently.  Usually in one charge.  Hitting on fours, wounding on 2s, a smattering of Inv saves and then done.  Sure, the storm shield guys were a pain, but they always are, regardless of what you use to take them down.  But with the new edition changes to power weapons bringing laser lances to AP3 on the charge, that target was denied them and, frankly, it was one of the few targets gave the squad a chance to get their exorbitantly high points back.  At 35 points apiece, Shining Spears were exceptionally pricey.

However, before I go down this road too far, let's quickly go over other things that the new edition changed for them.  The Jetbike rules made it easy to get cover saves and increased speed available with the Eldar Jetbikes could take them pretty much anywhere on the board in a turn.  Difficult terrain tests were far more forgiving as well and the bonus Hammer of Wrath hit was a nice plus.

Now we not only have these improvements to the unit, but also the tweaks given in the codex.  The most noticeable of these is a pretty hefty price drop to only 25 points per model, making them much more affordable.  Definitely still expensive, but able to easier get their points back, having unrivalled manoeuvrability about the field and the ability to take regular power armour to town.  The improved Shuriken weaponry is nice, but if that's all you're after, take guardians.  The lances don't seem to have changed at all, but for one thing, if you look closely enough.  They now have the lance rule in close combat.  This means that no vehicle is beyond their ability to damage (apart from Black Templar Land Raiders, of course).  Now, this is admittedly, unlikely to turn them into a wrecking ball of destruction, but the ability to scratch off the odd hull point here and there really is another feather in their cap, especially as you can shoot the lances before the charge as well.  Let's face it, you don't need to deal many glances to bring a vehicle down these days.

Aside from that, the equipment is pretty much as it was, although the laser lances have lost their Initiative bonus on the charge.  Oh well.  We'll just have to rely on our natural I5 to see us through.  We'll manage somehow...  We do have some new skills to mess about with though.  We've been through Ancient Doom before and Battle Focus is useless to a jetbike (why is it there?  My money's on misprint.), so we'll skip them and move on.  The two new skill that they have now are Outflank and Skilled Rider.  Outflank isn't tremendously useful in my opinion given the speed a jetbike can reach regardless, but I suppose it's nice to have that as an option in case you need it.  Skilled Rider is the big one though.  Previously a fully paid-up Exarch power, you now get this as standard and with the new version of the rule in 6th, it's phenomenal with this unit.  Where it used to give you a reroll on Dangerous terrain tests, it now renders you immune to dangerous terrain and also nets a very neat +1 to the Jink save.  This means that not only can you move the unit anywhere (or thereabouts), they also get a 4+ Cover save provided they moved.  That increases to 3+ when Turbo-Boosting, so stay nimble!

I see the unit very much as a bit of a Dark Eldar unit in practice.  Now, hear me out.  Their modus operandi is about the same.  They use their speed to stay out of trouble and harass enemy forces before leaping in on a weakened enemy unit and finishing them off.  Seriously, given them Power From Pain or maybe a decent brand of amphetamine, and they'll be right at home in Commorragh!  Ignore their name.  They're not a spear, they're a punch-dagger.

We also have the traditional Exarch option for 10 points.  This nets the usual stat improvements and access to skill and equipment.  Equipment wse, you can get a power weapon (eh...) or a Star Lance (oooh...).  We all know what a power weapon does, so let's move onto the fun stuff.  A star lance is like a laser lance, except that instead of dealing S6 AP3 hits, it packs a nastier punch at S8 and AP2.  Glorious!  It keeps the lance ability, making it a very viable omni-killer.  A useful challenger in assaults, seeing as it causes Instant Death for your standard Marine type.  Very nice.  You'd be hard pressed not to take a star lance if you're taking the exarch, especially as its only 10 points.

The exarch powers are also worth a look.  Monster Hunter is there for 5 points, which with the increase of MCs in the game, it could well be a sound investment, although with a star lance, you'd barely need it.  Still, you don't want that monstrous creature alive to hit you back.  We also have Disarming Strike for 10 points, tying in very nicely with his role as a challenge killer.  I've gushed about that skill enough, so let's move on.  The third skill is the best though.  Hit & Run.  I've been a great exponent of Hit & Run since I was running Hellions in 5th, and there's no way I'm changing that stance now!  It becomes even more useful for the Spear given the fact that they can only really deal decent damage on the charge.  Most of the tactics you can use with Hellions, you can use with Spears, so enjoy the ability to escape any fight you want and punch back at your leisure!

The big question here is not whether the Shining Spears have improved.  They have, undoubtedly.  But have they improved enough to oust the Hawks, the Hunters and Spiders from the Fast Attack slot?  The answer, as ever, is really up to you.  I'm definitely curious to test them out though!

IntrAspection: Baharroth

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)!

IntrAspection: Swooping Hawks

The prize for the ‘Most Improved Aspect’ definitely goes to the Hawks in this Codex.  Whereas, my wittering about the Dragons and the Scorpions have been fairly close and guarded, the Hawks’ analysis is going to be positively effervescent.  Just an FYI.

Back in 5^th, the Hawks were relatively unused for a couple of reasons.  Skyleap was expensive to attach to a unit and with reserve rules being what they were, the Skyleap/Grenade Pack combo was not reliable enough for cost, and didn’t pack much noticeable punch against a lot of armies given the prevalence of mechanised infantry.  They had haywire grenades, sure, which gave them a valid role of vehicle takedown, for whoever wanted an alternative to the Dragons.  Unfortunately, that was one of their only real roles, as their anti-troop weaponry was lacklustre and they were too brittle for their points cost.  22 points a model was crippling, and even then you needed to pour points into the unit to get an Exarch with Skyleap and maybe a decent gun.  The third reason (for me at least) was the models.  Not particularly bad looking models, but models that were spectacularly annoying to put together and transport.  We’re talking metal models with two individual wings apiece which had to be attached with poor contact points.  It was nearly impossible to transport them without the wings falling off and was very frustrating.  So I never used them in my games, which was a shame.

Thankfully, all of these points have been addressed in one way or another, which is glorious.  There’s a lot of trash talk about finecast, but it is so much better or these models than metal ever was.  The lightness of the material and the ease with which it adheres to superglue are major benefits and they can now transport well unless you’re really careless about it.  Also, as I’ve gone for a piratical/raider theme with my craftworlders, the Scourge models fit in very well as alternatives.  Scourges look freakin’ amazing, so I’m very happy that I have a ready-made excuse to use them in my Eldar lists!

The first change you’ll notice skimming through the book is that they are now noticeably cheaper, at only 16 points apiece, a significant reduction.  All to the good.  The next change is the weaponry.  The Lasblasters have been improved, their strength and AP remaining the same, but being improved from Assault 2 to Assault 3.  They’re probably not going to obliterate units with that, but it’s very nice to use to peck away at infantry from a respectable distance.  The Grenade pack has been improved as well, giving an extra AP (down to 4 now) and also rocking some Ignores Cover, which is spectacular.  Perfect for their ant-infantry duties and excellent counters for Nids, Tau and Guard.  The size of the blast depends on the number of models in the unit, so you’ll want to have a minimum of 6 in there to get the large blast.  Thankfully, the Hawks still have their Haywire grenades and with the confluence of vehicle combat rules and Hull Points are far more dangerous than they were in 5^th.  This is going to really put pressure on a lot of opponents to put down the Hawks as a priority, as even one or two surviving Hawks can deal significant damage to vehicles and have the manoeuvrability to strike almost where they please.

So that’s equipment.  What about the special rules?  Well there are two big ones (over and above the army-wide race rules).  The first is they all have Skyleap as standard, although that rule has been altered a bit, both for the good and the bad.  The bad is that you can no longer use it to escape from combat.  Technically bad, but if your Hawks are in a non-vehicle assault, then things are going poorly for them anyway.  Besides, you’ve got an exarch power for that problem should you be concerned about it.  The good part is that Skyleaping now puts you into Ongoing Reserves, meaning that they will automatically turn up again next turn, taking a lot of the uncertainty out of the power.  Speaking of the lack of uncertainty, the second ability is the Herald of Victory (rather presumptuous, isn’t it?) meaning that, if the entire unit has that rule, then they don’t scatter.  Boom.  You can use these special rules to nasty effect in the game, contesting objectives in the late game, repeatedly bombarding enemy holding units or stealth troops, putting pressure on backfield vehicles, all manner of things.  Not to mention that when you Deep Strike in, not only do you get the Grenades, you also get a ton of shots and with battle Focus, you can retreat into cover afterwards, or at least spread out to mitigate templates.  Bear in mind you have Fleet as well to reroll that run move if you don’t like it.  A very aggressive playstyle presents itself for this unit.  Almost Dark Eldar-style…  One more tactic to remember is that Ongoing reserves are automatic, so you can deploy the Swooping Hawks and then Skyleap them on turn 1 for an automatic turn 2 Deep Strike rather than relying on the vagaries of the dice.

The Exarch is useful, but nowhere near as necessary as he once was.  The usual characteristic upgrades present themselves and you have three powers to pick from.  Night Vision, which is occasionally useful, given the propensity of the Hawks to stay at range.  Not critical by any means, but at 5 points it doesn’t have to be.  Marksman’s Eye (allowing precision shots at 5+) is cool, but I don’t think the Exarch really has the ranged weaponry for this to be worthwhile.  Hit & Run is probably the most worthwhile power for him I think.  Combat is really not where the hawks are meant to be and if you can escape it, then do so.  Expensive though.

Finally, we have equipment.  You can give the Exarch a power sword, but see my previous comments about Hawks and assault.  I think there are better uses for those 10 point.  You have two guns, one of them is a S5 Lasblaster and the other is a Lasbalster with Blind and AP3.  I’m not sure on these.  Marksman’s Eye will stack fairly well with these, allowing you to snipe out sergeants and special weapons guys, but I would really think about where else those points could be spent before purchasing any of these.

So that’s my view on the Swooping Hawks.  Holy hell, they’re awesome now!

But does their Phoenix Lord follow suit?  Baharroth will be next in the firing line.

IntrAspection: Karandras

Karandras is the Phoenix Lord of the Striking Scorpions, although not the founder of the Aspect.  That’s a fairly long-standing and well-enough know piece of the fluff and one that I like, especially as it is expanded on in a nudge-and-wink way in the Dark Eldar codex and in The Dark Eldar novels, particularly Path of the Incubus.  The founder of the scorpions and, later (allegedly) the Incubi, was Arhra Father of Scorpions, also known as Drazhar, the Master of Blades (allegedly) although according to legend Arhra is dead now (allegedly).  I bring this up apropos of nothing by the way; I just enjoy all the maybe/maybe not messing around that happens with these characters.  Yet another of the reasons why I like the game and the universe in general.

The fact that he’s only second fiddle in the history of the Scorpions has no effect on his ability to do his job however:  Karandras is an absolute damn murderer on the battlefield.  Amongst the Phoenix Lords in 5^th, he was highly ranked despite his price tag as he could pack a massive punch and probably survive long enough to deliver it.  Now in 6^th, such a declaration is beyond any doubt.  With the Scorpion’s claw being altered in the new codex, this guy has taken a distinct upgrade in sheer killitude.  Its lack of the Specialist and Unwieldy special rule means that he can get about breaking necks at a highly respectable I7 and all the while at S8 and 5 attacks flat footed.  That weapon attached to that statline is almost cruel.

His unique piece of wargear this edition is the Scorpion’s Bite (‘cos scorpions are renowned for their bites, aren’t they?) and operates exactly the same as the run-of-the-mill Mandiblaster, but resolved at S6 rather than S3, which is nice, but not amazing.  Nevertheless, it’s funny to imagine this guy blowing up a tank using his face-mounted lasers!  It’s also always fun to get a cheap shot in during a challenge and it helps to thin the ranks during a brawl-style melee.  Also, while we’re on wargear, note that Karandras has a clutch of plasma grenades, so charging through cover is not a problem.  Suck it, Jain Zar!

Skills wise, if he is the warlord, then for one phase per game he and any friends with 12” get to reroll failed wounds.  Not earth-shattering, but could turn the tide in a pinch and assert a strong charge.  He comes with the usual Phoenix Lord goodies, most importantly Eternal Warrior and Fearless.  He also brings the gamut of Scorpion rules to the fore, packing Night Vision, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover and Stealth.  Most of these skills are transferable to his unit, so much like Fuegan, he may well be of greater use accompanying a non-Scorpion unit.  It would be hard to break theme though…  Unlike Fuegan however, he does not dual class very well and his shooting is limited to a Shuriken catapult.  I would very much stick him in an assault unit.  I’m think Storm Guardians again, oddly enough.  His Fearless will rub off on them and the mass of them approaching, all stealthed up, could prove a significant threat.

His Exarch powers are not what I would have chosen, as there is a fair amount of overlap between the two.  He has Monster Hunter (granting him rerolls to wound against Monstrous Creatures and a law suit by Capcom) and Stalker (allowing him rerolls to wound with a successful Initiative roll-off in a challenge).  I can see their relevance to him, no doubt, but all I’m saying is: no Crushing Blow?  Really?  Anyway, that’s really a minor gripe.  The major gripe may come for many at his cost.  He comes with a Land Raider price tag.  Oh, all right, he’s a few points under, but in a 1,500 point game he’s still accounting for about a sixth of your army, so if you take him, you’d better have a plan to get into combat.  Not only that, but a combat that is worth his while.  Again, challenges add a dimension of deadliness to the character that’s hard to overlook, but a lot of the time he would be better off dealing with the bulk of the enemy unit, so whichever unit accompanies him into the fray, make sure they have a character in them to soak up any chancers who want to challenge to deny some wound allocation.

Nevertheless, having said that, blunting his impact on the charge by having a squad sergeant as a wound soak for resolution will increase your chances of breaking the assault in the opponents turn, always a good thing for an assault unit.  So what I’m saying is that you need to judge these things carefully and plan ahead.  He’s a lot of points bound up in one small character, so much like the Scorpions, you must be patient and only strike when the time is right and when the appropriate target presents itself.

I so want to play a Court of the Young King now…

IntrAspection: Striking Scorpions

It’s difficult to review the Scorpions without comparing them to the other Assault aspect competing for the Elites slot: The Howling Banshees.  Back in 5^th, they definitely came off as the weaker choice.  They were the same cost, more heavily armoured (at the cost of Fleet) and struck at a higher strength but lacked the power weapon angle to deny armour saves.  Given the near-ubiquity of power armoured armies, that particular foible cost them dearly.  The only enemy they were better at were lightly armoured ones, but they lacked the numbers to effectively deal with horde.  They could infiltrate and gain stealth, but these were expensive, as they were only available as Exarch upgrades.  Has the balance of power shifted here?  I can’t say.  I’m just going to limit the comparison to a simple before and after.

One thing to notice is that these guys are a now a point more expensive than they used to be, which may not seem like much, but so much is cheaper throughout the new dex that it’s worth noticing.  As they’re more expensive are they better though?  I would say yes here.  A brief rundown of the changes and improvements will duly follow.

The mandiblasters have now changed a little.  I can’t say whether that’s for better or for worse though.  Instead of just giving them a bonus attack, they now give an I10 S3 bonus attack.  So you lose a point of strength for the additional attack but get that hit in first.  Against enemies like Genestealers and dark Eldar, this is definitely a good thing, certainly given that a lot of DE assault units would have been striking first normally, and they’re still brittle enough that the pre-punch could have a significant impact.  Against marines and such, it’s a bit of a let-down, but no-one wants to field scorpions against marines anyway do they?

A new big deal is that they now have fleet, although fleet has been reduced from what it once was, it’s still nice to have as an option certainly whilst twinned with Battle Focus, although you’re still just firing shuriken pistols.  Another plus is that they have Infiltrate and Stealth as standard, rather than paying the exorbitant amounts for the Exarch upgrades.  This ties in perfectly with what the aspect was meant to be and more than justifies the minimal price increase on its own.  Packing in Move Through Cover is also really handy, helping you get the most out of the Scorpion’s movement.

Equipment wise, they are the same as they were (bar the mandiblaster alterations, of course).  Their armour is basically power armour and the close combat weapon still adds an extra strength and also a little AP bump to get through 6+ saves.  Nothing to write home about.  Plasma grenades are also present, and the same they ever were.  The upgrades to the Shuriken pistols should go without saying for now.

The Exarch, as ever, is where things get interesting.  Your three powers are Monster Hunter (rerolls to wound vs MCs, useful every now and again), Crushing Blow (+1 strength) and Stalker.  Stalker is an odd one.  It only works during a challenge, but allows an Initiative roll-off with the challenger/challenge.  The Scorpion stands well placed to win this and if he does, he gets to reroll all failed wounds versus his opponent which again is very nice.  Not sure if I’d invest a whole 10 points in though.

The three specialist Exarch weapons are back again.  The biting blade is the cheapest and has taken a major streamlining from its somewhat complicated earlier incarnation (+1 strength per hit you score) to a straight +2 S bonus and an AP of 4, but takes up both hands to wield.  Good thing it’s cheap.  It should be decent for cutting through lighter vehicles as (combined with Crushing Blow) allows the exarch to strike at S6 with 3 attacks flat-footed.  It wouldn’t be my go-to weapon by any means, but I can see uses for it, especially if you’re on a budget or want to fight some Spawn or Grotesques.

The next option are the chainsabres, which are cool.  They basically give the exarch  a full shuriken catapult and a pair of Rending +1S close combat weapons. Combined with some wound rerolls, the rending can be very nasty and with Crushing Blow they will also be handy for vehicle disposal.  Also, they are only 5 points more expensive than the Biting Blade.  Frankly, if you’re on that kind of budget, I would really go for the sabres instead of the blade.  They are so much better and less restrictive.  The last weapon is the Scorpions Claw and, yeesh, this has taken an upgrade.  It used to be a power fist with a built-in catapult.  Now, it’s a power fist with a built-in catapult, but with all the penalties of a power removed.  It’s not unwieldy, it’s not even a Specialist weapon so you can squeeze the most out your Exarchs attacks.  Kitted out with one of these and a power or two, this guy’s challenge machine.  Very scary, but you certainly pay for that, as the weapon costs more than the Exarch wielding it.  The Claw is a whopping 30 points, so you’ll definitely want to plan to get the most out of the purchase.  Given the choice between the claw and the sabre, I’m genuinely unsure of what I’d pick.  The claw is objectively better, but the cost may well be a touch prohibitive in a lot of lists.

Well, that was a lot to get through!  I think I’ll do an extra bit of chat about the role of these guys in the battle field later.  Just listing all the changes took a thousand words!  I probably should have just drawn a picture…

IntrAspection: Fuegan

Next in the crosshairs is the Phoenix Lord of the Fire Dragons, Fuegan aka The Burning Lance.  Back when I was doing the Short Shrift episodes, I split the Phoenix Lords into two groups; the A list and the B list.  Fuegan was very much in the B list.  He was god for pretty much one thing: wrecking vehicles.  Admittedly he could do that very well.  However, his life expectancy after he’d slagged his first vehicle was likely to be the same as any Fire Dragon.  Even with Eternal Warrior, a 2+ save and Feel No Pain, there was still a negligible chance of his surviving long enough to kill a second.  Most of the firepower that would be leveraged against him would be AP2 or better in order to negate both his save and the FNP and 200+ points would be down the drain just like that.  A full squad of Fire Dragons was cheaper than that and could kill vehicles more reliably purely by dint of having more guns.  He could mix it up okay in assault, but wasn’t really good enough to warrant the cost in that field either.  But have things changed for him?

Let’s find out.  Statwise, he is exactly the same as he was, which is to be expected.  The Phoenix Lords are well established in-game and their stats were pretty killer to start off with, so that was no surprise.  He still has FNP, although with the usual buff/debuff that they received on the advent of 6^th.  At least it gives him a better shot at surviving a fusillade of plasma.  The Fire Axe has taken a bit of an alteration.  In 5^th it allowed him to attack as a monstrous creature of S6, so he could punk tanks and walkers in fairly short order.  However, with the changes in MC combat rules, that changed the functionality a little.  Now the retooled axe strikes at user’s strength with an AP of 1 and Armourbane, allowing for 2D6 on armour penetration rolls.  His basic strength 4 is boosted to 5 due to the Crushing Blow Exarch power he has, so on balance he is a little worse against vehicles in assault.

However this is mitigated by one of his funkier rules: Unquenchable Resolve.  This handy little addition adds 1 to Fuegan’s strength and attacks characteristic for each wound he had lost.  This brings with it the enticing prospect of this guy letting rip with 6 S7 AP1 attacks a turn!  That’s squadron killing stuff right there.  It even boosts him to be a very nasty CC opponent versus infantry and MCs alike.  Of course, you have to walk the knife edge there as he’ll only be on one wound, but that would be a fun last wound!

Equipment wise he packs pretty much what you’d expect: Phoenix armour for the 2+ save, the Fire Axe, meltabombs for the times when the axe won’t cut it and a Firepike.  Oddly enough, for a weapon that he is supposed name after, it’s just a regular Firepike, so 18” range melta.  You’d kind of expect a little more, wouldn’t you?  He does bring a couple of nice touches to the weapon though.  The Fast Shot skill and (should he be your Warlord) the ability to split fire from his squad does make him a more significant ranged threat, although whether you’ll get his points back doing that is very much up in the air.  It would seem that you get the most out of him by mixing it up with an assault or anti-infantry squad.  He can pick off nearby vehicles while his followers would target more appropriate quarry and the Battle Focus rule allows him to still put distance upfield with your other warriors.  And once you reach an assault, you can let rip with him.  Challenges are a must for any Phoenix Lord: with those stats (especially the added punch that Fuegan can bring) there would be very little that would get the best of him.

One last point is that the restrictions on placing Phoenix Lords with certain squads appear to be lifted, allowing for some bizarre, but interesting combinations.  I could see him with an assault-focussed aspect like the Banshees, but I think one of the best pairings is going to be with the Storm Guardians.  They can bring a nice little bit of melta to try and kill off another vehicle, become Fearless when he’s in the squad and with a maximum of 20 models, provide enough ablative cover for him to get stuck in and deal the damage.

I’m not going to rate the Lords into good and bad any more.  I simply don’t have the experience or grounding to do so.  However, I do feel that Fuegan has taken an upgrade in the new iteration.  Is he 220 points worth of awesome though?  Quite possibly, if your opponent likes his land raiders…

IntrAspection: Fire Dragons

First stop on the next dex is for the Fire Dragons.  They are the only aspect that has had a statline change (4+ armour to 3+) since the old dex, but that comes with a pretty hefty price increase.  The big question, of course, is whether or not they are still worth it.  After all, for only 50 points more, you could get a 5-strong squad of Wraithguard who will do even better most of the time due to their S10 wraithcannons and their high toughness and fearless nature lending them more survivability than your average ‘tankicide’ unit.

So, step one is equipment.  The equipment on these guys is the same as it ever was, with the exception of the heavier armour.  Your standard Fire Dragon pack a fusion gun (a meltagun by any other name…) and some meltabombs.  Dragons have always been used for two main targets: vehicles and monstrous creatures.  Given the changes in 6th edition, they are better at dealing with the MCs, primarily down to the use of meltabombs in close combat.  Also, given that grenades are far easier to plant on walkers, the assault phase is more open to them than in 5th and certain units will not want to get anywhere near them, meltaguns notwithstanding.  But the same could be said of them in the previous edition.

The 3+ armour save is nice, but not worth the points cost in itself.  I’ve joked several times that it doesn’t matter that they’ve got a better save, they’ll do exactly the same thing, and with the same result as they did in 5th.  I’ll hold to that assessment I think.  The extra armour is nice, but ultimately not going to be of too much consequence give how they’re used.  However, the new Battle Focus rule really dovetails nicely into their tank-killing role.  There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when the rules for vehicle disembarking forced them to only move 6” instead of the usual 12.  In reality, due to the far more generous disembarkation distance, it only really resulted in a 2” loss of movement.  With Battle Focus though, this loss can be easily swallowed up 35 times out of 36 and the overwhelming majority of the time they can now get closer to the target than they could before.  Definitely an improvement.  Or there’s the other possibility for Battle Focus, and that’s as a retreat.  Combined with the fleet reroll, the ability to duck back into cover may well help surviving all that retaliatory fire.  When it comes down to it (all snark aside), anything that could help them survive longer is a big plus, as even one Fire Dragon is a big threat to enemy vehicles.

Onto the Exarch then.  There’s the standard statline upgrade than comes with it, and the equipment upgrades are the same as before; the Firepike and the Dragon’s Breath being identical to their previous incarnations.  The big changes are to be found in the Exarch powers.  The big downer here is the lack of Tank Hunter, a big deal in a vehicle-hunting unit (although there is a limit as to how much that will help given the plethora of fusion guns at the squad’s disposal).  Instead, we get three powers of varying degrees of use.  First we have Iron Resolve, boosting the leadership of the Exarch (and therefore his squad) to 10 instead of 9.  This is useful, certainly when tank-shocking season comes around or if you want to stick around in a combat with a monstrous creature.  It’s cheap too, at only 5 points.  Also, given the casualty rate of a Fire Dragon unit, it is certainly not to be disregarded. 

The next ability is Crushing blow, increasing the Exarch’s strength to 4.  I won’t mince words here: I see absolutely no point to this.  They don’t get decent close combat weapons; unless you count meltabombs and they don't rely on strength.  It will have (at best) a marginal impact on assaults versus infantry, a sub-optimal position for them anyway.  Certainly not worth the 10 point price tag.  The leadership bonus is far more useful and at half the cost.  The last ability is Fast Shot, which could be useful, as you would get an extra BS5 shot for slightly less than buying an extra Dragon, so a net gain there.  Also, if you’re feeling unconventional, comboing this with a dragon’s breath flamer makes for a very going anti-infantry weapon for the unit.  EDIT: Actually, you can't do this.  It can't be used on Template weapons.  Err... Whoops?  You probably won’t need more than 4 meltas anyway…

So the conclusion?  It’s mixed for me.  The hefty price increase is definitely a point against them, although that seems to be the only complaint.  The increased manoeuvrability is handy, the armour improvements and some canny deployment could help them be more than a single-shot suicide squad.  And if you want to take down a landraider, they and Wraithguard are still your only viable ranged options without spend out the arse for lances.  There is one thing to bear in mind on the price front though, which has made me soften to these guys significantly from my first read though.  The tank-killing squad of choice in the Dark Eldar codex are Blaster-armed Trueborn, who have less armour, wield lance instead of melta (personal choice there) and cost 27 points each.  Just something to think about.

Next up will be the Phoenix Lord of the Fire Dragons.  How will Fuegan fare?

IntrAspection: Prelude

Hi guys,

Listening to the show where my fellow casters first talked about the new Codex Eldar was interesting, but slightly frustrating, given my tendency to want to interrupt people.  I had formed various opinions on the dex and the units within, but the main point that caught my interest in discussion was the insistence that there was a lack of development for the Aspect Warriors.  Far be it from me to slight my fellow hosts by calling them wrong, but, dammit, I feel they’re mistaken on this one!

I think I’ve put forward my case for the Aspects fairly well on the most recent show, and was actually slightly surprised by my own enthusiasm on the topic.  However, whilst I disagreed with their original stance on the warriors, it’s entirely understandable that you wouldn’t see the improvements unless you really knew the old codex, especially seeing as there were very few aspect players in 5th.  You saw two aspects for the most part: Dire Avengers for cheap scoring upgrades for Wave Serpents and Fire Dragons for some suicide tank-overkill.  Playing against elder in 5th would not have acquainted you with them enough to see the alterations, especially seeing as the improvements to Wraiths, (including the new constructs) and the Guardians (plus all the vehicles) were very clear in statline and equipment.

By way of contrast the Aspect Warriors seemed hard done by.  Their stats were the same, their equipment and weapons were the same, their points were… well who actually remembers the Aspect Warrior point values without access to the previous codex or weapons-grade Asperger’s?  But to those who played Eldar enough to know what the old warriors were like and looked into the dex (old and new), changes have been plentiful and far-reaching.  So, by way of expanding on my part of the elder chatter in the last episode, I present my new miniseries: IntrAspection, where I’ll go through the various aspects, note what I like/don’t like and how they’ve changed.  Maybe talk a little hypothetical tactics (again, my caveat here is that it’s all paper and theory so far, so take that as you will).  I’ll also be using the blogspace to talk about some of my favourite characters in the universe and on the tabletop: the Phoenix Lords.  I’ve talked about them before as part of the Short Shrift segment on the illustrious 11th company, but this new iteration of them is more than enough reason to hash over old ground!

I don’t know quite how long this series will last.  I doubt it will be as long as the Dark Eldar update review, but if it is, that’s no bad thing!

As ever, if you have any questions or differing viewpoints to air, my comments section is always open.