Farseer Fail

It figures.

2015-05-02T10:42:00.001-07:00

Well, that was predictable, wasn't it?

A New Eldar Codex

Out of left field the new Eldar Codex arrives - excuse me, "Craftworld Eldar Codex"! And far from being a nerf bat, it brought the already strong Eldar codex forward in power. Quite unexpected. My copy hasn't arrived yet but I've taken a look at others' copies and I have to admit I'm utterly blown away.

The Good. I mean like REALLY REALLY GOOD.

First the improvements. A lot of things have changed for the better. And I mean a LOT has changed.

Toning Down the Serpent Shield

This needed to happen. Nuff said.

Aspects with a Purpose

Finally we have a reason to dust off our aspect warriors. Every aspect got a bump that helps them to function effectively on the table.

I must admit I'm jazzed to finally field my banshees again. Seems like they haven't been a decent choice at all since 3rd ed. First in 4th ed they lost the ability to disembark and assault, then in 5th power weapons became AP3 instead of Ignores Armor, oh and OVERWATCH!

Dark Reapers should be making an appearance again too. I love my reapers. Now everyone will love my reapers. Love them and despair!

Exarchs that Do The Thing.

Historically there's been a big disconnect between the aspect and its Exarch's abilities. The Exarch usually does the same thing but slightly better, but then takes off into left field with some crazy stuff that is out of character for the rest of the unit.

Now the Exarch provides support to the entire unit, making them a valuable upgrade, and they sport an extra wound, to boot. Huzzah!

Craftworld Warhosts

I love guardians. Now I love guardians even more! The Craftworld Host detachment is fantastic for guardians. Even though there are some mandatory choices I can't get excited about, the benefits of this detachment are undeniable.

Lords of War

Still working this through in my head. On the one hand I'm glad that the Avatar and WK are LoW now. In a standard FOC you will only be able to bring one and that's a good thing. IMO, the internet community at large has overlooked the fact that Regular Joe Eldar player is only going to be able to field one of these bad boys. More about this later.

The Bad, if you can call it that.

What if I don't want a Farseer?

Yeah, that's right, I like to run no-psyker Eldar. I guess that makes me a much fluffier player than others. I would prefer to have a detachment that allows me to bring an Autarch rather than a Farseer, but with Farseer powers being sooooo good now I guess I won't cry too much. I suppose I can always run standard Force Org, right?

Wraithknights

What. The. Fuck. The biggest changes in the codex all happened to this guy and I still don't get it. Now they are Gargantuan, excuse me Jump Garganutan Creatures, and come with two Destroyer weapons as a default. And they are still <300 points. I don't get it. Wow. Just, wow. Luckily I only own one of these. Thanks, Obama...

Scatter Laser Bikes?

I don't really get this one either, and I concede the point that a unit of 10 jetbikes with SLs on them will probably be a large problem for almost any army that can't take down big units of bikes with long range Ignores Cover or Ignores Jink. You know, like Dark Reapers can?

OH NOES MY MONEY!!!!

Right now I'm sitting on 30 or so old-school jetbikes. Once I start supplementing this force with the newer models, I don't think I'm going to be able to stop. Then figure in the money I still have yet to spend on new Harlequins models

Community Bawling

This is the biggest negative to come out of the new codex. So much griefing. It makes me glad I don't do the tournament thing anymore. And now there are groups who are trying to ban Eldar from competitive play? Please.

I can see their point, really. The previous codex was already strong and the new one is even stronger. So much of the hatred has focused on the Wraithknight, which was already good without gaining the benefit of being Gargantuan, but I think there's a false perception that the evil no-comp Eldar players will still be fielding three of them in their lists. If you do the math, that isn't likely. In order to get the sweet wraith detachment that allows you to field "TWALV WRIATHKNIGTS OMG HALP!!!" requires you to take a guardian host that's typically going to cost you a minimum of 500 to 600 points with minimal to no upgrades.

In a 1850 point game that leaves you enough to put four wraithknights on the table if you utterly ignore everything else. While I wouldn't enjoy facing off against that list, I think this will be a rare case. In any event, you have complete control over the opponents you face in casual/friendly games.

If someone brings one of those lists, don't play them.

Wraithknights, for all their new destructive power, will most likely be singletons from now on. And when it comes down to it, the great majority of models on any gaming table will be single wound critters. Multi wound models and bigger vehicles will suffer, for sure.

Conclusion

While I don't doubt that the new codex is powerful, the only truly imbalancing thing I can see in it is the potential of Wraithknight abuse, and even that is speculative. Time will tell, as it always does. Remember the Flying Land Raider? That didn't break the game either.

Peace out.

GW Must Be Reading My Blog

2015-04-20T13:34:00.002-07:00

Whenever I think I'm about to hit a stride on this thing, for the last 6 months or so anyway, some new Eldar thing comes out of left field and derails me.
By now, you already know that there is a new Eldar codex out there. Internet rumor mills are in full whirl, with scanned pages and rules dumps being posted daily.

I'm not going to get into a rant here about the generally negative opinions of the new codex because the trolling, the whining, the drama really don't appeal to me at all.

I'm also not going to get into the assumptions and half-rules that have been posted out of context. I'll believe it when I see it myself in print.

So. Positivity!

Serpent Shield

...has been downgraded to One Use Only. Good. It was OP. It was wonderful, it was smashy and broken and cringeworthy and I'm glad its gone.

Wraithknight.

Upgrades upgrade upgrades! Wow, I did not see this coming. I hope the point cost of the wraithknight will go up to reflect the D-weapons and Gargantuan Monstrous Creature abilities!

"Flat" Aspects.

Finally. FINALLY! At long last it appears that the exarch's and phoenix lords' abilities will be more in line with the abilities and roles of their respective aspects. This has been needed since before 3rd edition and one of my number one peeves about the army.

Detachments.

I don't know what the whining is about. Don't use them if you don't like them. Use the FOC. Seriously, just shut up already. I'm looking forward to free weapons platforms and/or special weapons.

There isn't much more to say at this point. I like all the new models, though I'm overloaded on autarchs at the moment. And I'm sincerely very thankful that I won't have to break out the razor saw to convert seers and warlocks to jetbike riders. Whew!

It's all good, folks! Don't sweat it.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Monkeigh

2015-03-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, I'll have to admit that I've been fully derailed from my Eldar plans by the Harlequins release. The harlequins are meant to play an important role in the Craftworld Fail story but now... NOW! Sheesh, this opens up a whole new vista for me to explore!

Originally all my thoughts on including the Harlequins involved using them within the scope of Codex: Eldar and Imperial Armour 11, but with their own codex to fall back on I find that I can dive much deeper into the role of the space clowns with regards to their direct involvement with the Eye of Terror campaign - which seems to be rebooting as we speak, what with all the "40K End Times" rumors floating around.

I will have to think long and hard about this. Several factors come to mind, some obvious:

The opportunities for narrative scenarios in the Nemed campaign.
The chance to finally work on a list-based painting project.
Building a campaign-based full army list (Eldar CAD, Corsair AD, Harlequin formation)

Just when I thought I had everything figured out...

Craftworld Fáil: Princes of War (Part 2)

2015-01-26T13:09:00.005-08:00

Nuada's sons each represent a unique play style. Here I'll give a similar breakdown of their rules and cost, both a by-the-book build and a more customized approach for each.

Lugh the Long-Handed
Lugh's stat line follows that of another Autarch. As such it's easy enough to build him out:

Autarch with Eldar Jetbike, Banshee Mask, Fusion Gun, Laser Lance/Shard of Anaris - 150 points.

Lugh was known to be skilled with the spear and a great horseman, as well as being renowned for his mastery of pretty much every skill you can put a name too. To top it off he was universally well-liked. I can't think of a better place or use for him than leading a valiant squad of Shining Spears across the table!

Daghda

Daghda fits the mold of either Farseer or Spiritseer, but for the purpose of a more generic build, let's start with a Farseer (more on his Spiritseer build in a later post).

Farseer with Runes of Warding and Witnessing, Singing Spear, Spirit Stone of Anathlan - 145 points.

This gives you a level 3 psyker who can still rock and roll in cc. The Spirit Stone of Anathlan is a decent stand-in for the Cauldron of Daghda. I think the Witch Staff is more in keeping with the club used by Daghda in the Celtic myths, but I can get back to that in the custom builds.

Elatha

Elatha's domain lies solidly in that of the Corsairs.

Corsair Prince with Fusion Pistol, Void Sabre, Force Shield, Balelight, Meltabombs - 160 points.

The back story on Elatha in Celtic mythology is pretty sparse and even contradictory between sources. Thus I'm using him as generic threat. Elatha's fluff background fits him into the mold of a crusader or terrorist - whatever it takes to bring the fight to the "human threat." His obsessive hatred for the Imperium and lack of discipline in the Path system makes his very presence disruptive to the psychically-attuned eldar. Thus I'm planning to make him operate without the benefit of psychic support on the battlefield.

Eventually, each one of these fellows will be getting a post of their own, in which I will detail their custom abilities, drawbacks and a potential point cost.

Craftworld Fáil: Princes of War

2015-01-23T16:37:00.000-08:00

The High Autarch of Craftworld Fáil has produced three sons in his lifetime. These three often lead the Lia Fáil in Nuada's absence, and are as different from one another as any three eldar can be.

First a little fluff background on each, then in a following article we'll get into designing them for tabletop use.

Lugh the "Long Handed"

Lugh was born on the Biel Tan craftworld to Nuada and his first wife, Morrigha, and exemplifies the ritualistic, war-like ways of that craftworld. It is said that Lugh has walked every warrior path that Biel Tan had to offer, and found them wanting. Wandering far afield in his youth, he was drawn naturally to the Path of Command. He favors the Shining Spears aspect and frequently enters battle alongside them or other jetbike-mounted troops.

Lugh frequently serves as Nuada's primary military leader (Autarch) when Nuada himself is needed elsewhere. While he is a deft commander and makes full and prudent use of whatever his arsenal contains, he disdains the Dark Kin or even his father's corsair allies. He is a child of Biel Tan, through and through, eschewing even those kin following the Path of the Outcast.

Daghda

Daghda is a seer, born upon the exodite world Nemed to his mother Macha, a warseer or "badb catha". Though he and Elatha share a mother, they could not be different in temperament. Dagdha took to the Path of the Seer at an early age, and serves the fledgling craftworld as its primary farseer.While he is an exodite and lacks the couth and refinement of a craftworld native, he more than makes up for that lack with his mental powers.

Daghda carries two potent artifacts; his personal Staff and Cauldron. He obtained them both while fighting within the Eye of Terror. The Staff of Daghda is a potent weapon capable of laying low multiple enemies with a single sweep. The Cauldron is a more subtle device that allows him to bolster those around him, even healing wounds and repairing wraithbone constructs with its abilities.

Elatha

Elatha, the youngest of Nuada's sons, is Daghda's brother. Until the capture of Lia Fáil, he had never in his life set foot upon a craftworld, and it shows in his temperament. The most mercurial and bloodthirsty of the High Autarch's children, he is called the Dark Scion, for his demeanor is most like that of the Commoraghans. The more sensitive eldar shun him, for his emotional ways unbalance those around him. Aside from the Void Dreamers of the Night Shrike fleet, no eldar walking the path of the Seer can tolerate him, save perhaps his brother, and there is no love lost between his half-brother Lugh and himself. Some fear where Elatha's passions will lead him, while a few whisper that he is already lost to She Who Thirsts.

He leads the Night Shrikes in Nuada's name, and he is never more savage in his band's attacks than when humans are the target. He has made a name for himself amongst the monkeigh as a ruthless slayer of men, leaving nothing living behind in his lightning raids.

The High Autarch Nuada of Craftworld Lia Fáil, Part 2

2015-01-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

Now that we have the basics of Nuada down, let's see if we can figure out where his point cost should be and make a few final adjustments before play-testing.

	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Nuada	6	6	3/5	3	3	6	2	10	3+/4++

Equipment: Fusion Gun, Shard of Anaris, Banshee Mask

Special Rules:
High Autarch - Nuada must be your warlord.

Path of Strategy - Modify your reserve rolls by +1 or -1, after rolling. Usable when Craftworld Eldar are present.

Sky Raiders - may nominate any 3 units to gain Deep Strike.

Void Strike - A one-use ability with 3 flavors, including a choice between two Planetary Bombardment-like Ordnance strikes or forcing Night Fighting for one turn.

Finding the Cost

When comparing Nuada to other similar characters, where does he fall? Yriel (another Autarch special character) is a close combat monster with Path of Strategy but only comes in at 140 points. Nuada's personal power rating doesn't stand up to Yriel's, by statline or equipment. His abilities augment the army he leads.

When compared to a similar corsair prince load-out at 145 points, Nuada edges him out with Path of Strategy and Battle Focus. Let's say 150 would be the lowest possible points cost for the High Autarch.

Eldrad weighs in at 205 and the Mymeara farseer character, Bel-annath, at a leaner 175 points, but they are both psykers, so different rules apply. Nuada is vaguely in line with Bel-Annath, so let's say the upper range for his cost would be in that area.

That gives Nuada a potential range of 150 to 175 points, with room for error. Now to find someone willing to playtest a few games against him with those rules, preferably with variable army lists.

The High Autarch Nuada of Craftworld Lia Fáil

2015-01-19T09:33:00.001-08:00

Time for some crunch! Sorry for the long lead time into this, but I wanted to get the story down before embarking upon the crunchy stuff. My plan is to run Nuada as a main HQ, a heavy-hitter who is individually unique but also adds a functional edge to the list as a whole.

Feel free to comment on him; he's a work in progress. I plan to have two versions; a codex-compliant version and a custom version for friendly games.

By The Book Version

Nuada , High Autarch ("legal" build) - use Autarch, buy Fusion Gun, Shard of Anaris, Banshee Mask (128 points).

OR

Nuada, Corsair Prince ("legal" build) - us Corsair Prince, buy Fusion Pistol, Forceshield, Void Sabre, Haywire grenades (150 points).

Either of these builds are close enough to serve. Note the lack of transport options; Nuada is a boot-on-the-ground leader, disdaining jump or jet packs, jump generators or jetbikes. He's getting a little old for that sort of thing.

Custom Version

But how do you go about building such a character from scratch? Particularly without making it overpowered or toothless? Truth be told, I'm not sure, but I plan to try some friendly games with him, get feedback, and adjust either his power or cost accordingly.

First, the statline. Nuada is, for all intents and purposes, indistinguishable from an autarch or corsair prince, so that statline and the basic traits and abilities of either will work.

Nuada (custom)

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
6	6	3/5	3	3	6	2	10	3+/4++

But to add color and flesh him out further, I want to include something to set him apart, like Prince Yriel or Illic Nightspear.

It would be VERY easy to build this guy into an unstoppable beast, something like an Autarch Eldrad, but when building something you actually expect to be allowed to play, you want to keep the design slim and preferably thematic. When building a special character, include some limitations with your cheese!

In this case I want Nuada to be more of a commander; potent enough in combat but really someone who acts as a force multiplier for the rest of the army. Since he is the figurehead of the army, I want to be able to bring him regardless of what configuration I'm running, with or without corsairs. Thus I'm going to give him an ability called "High Autarch", which lets him function as either an Autarch or Corsair Prince, depending on which detachment he joins.

I also want him to be able to use his Corsair Prince and Autarch abilities interchangeably. If running a list containing both corsairs and craftworld eldar, thus having access to Path of Strategy, Sky Raiders and Void Strike.

Secondly, well... he is THE king. Second to none. I don't see this guy playing second fiddle to anyone, maybe not even Asurmen! Thus when you bring him you must choose him as your warlord. That isn't much of a limitation but it does prevent you from bringing any other choice as a warlord, like Asurmen.

Also there's the issue of his weapon. Shard of Anaris is pretty close to the original weapon used by the Nuada from the myth, which "no one escaped from once drawn, nor could anyone resist it." Confers +2 Strength, Fearless, Rending, and Fleshbane and Instant Death in a challenge. I'll stick with that.

There's also the matter of his "silver arm", the prosthesis he used after losing his arm to Sreng. I suppose that could simply be modeled, or be considered a "custom" forceshield. I can't think of any in-game effect that wouldn't look broken, even on paper. We'll leave this one for now.

Since he's down one arm, let's reduce his A by 1, just because. He needs some weaknesses. Remember, with those three special rules from being both an Autarch and Corsair Prince, this guy is a Swiss army knife on the table, so adding some arbitrary limitations should be fine.

Where does that leave us?

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
6	6	3/5	3	3	6	2	10	3+/4++

Equipment: Fusion Gun, Shard of Anaris, Banshee Mask.

High Autarch: Must be your warlord. Counts as a Corsair Prince and an Autarch, and may lead a detachment of eldar or corsairs.

In the next installment, we'll take a look at other HQs and compare the points cost. A nicely balanced points cost will be essential to making this guy playable.

edit: sorry, fixed a formatting mistake with the stat line table.

Craftworld Fáil: The High Autarch (Part 2)

2015-01-09T16:31:00.001-08:00

(continued from Part 1 here)...

The craftworld Lia Fáil, lost since the Fall, was indeed not derelict. As Nuada's corsairs cautiously explored the dark, dusty worldship they were met and challenged not by squatters of the lesser races, nor even living Eldar, but the ghosts of the craftworld itself.

Active squads of wraithguard and wraithlords converged upon Nuada's host, ready to repel uninvited boarders. These dead sentinels were ancient things, the colors of their wraithbone bodies muted by time and dust, worn from ages of simple entropy. Deceased or no, Nuada was loath to wage war against his own race, and quickly ordered his followers to surrender.

The Doom of Lia Fáil

The newcomers later learned that the craftworld had suffered greatly after the Fall. The great ship was too near the Eye of Terror to escape unscathed. Many of the ship's inhabitants perished, and others were turned, corrupted by the apotheosis of Slaanesh.

A battle for survival followed, and the eldar of Lia Fáil purged their craft spire by spire and deck by deck. In the end they were able to destroy or pursue into the Webway the last of the daemonic incursion, but sealed their webway portals as a safeguard. Believing themselves to be the very last of their race, they began a long, slow guardianship of the craftworld, and the Lia Fáil dwindled and perished over time.

Even the long-lived eldar are not immortal. As the surviving eldar succumbed to despair or age, the last of the craftworld's spiritseers bound them into the infinity circuit of the great ship, activating some to keep watch as wraith units. Eventually even the last of the seers perished. Without the guidance of spiritseers, or bonesingers to repair them or craft new bodies, the wraith constructs held silent and eternal vigil as the great craftworld silently slid through the endless darkness between stars, a tomb to a forgotten people. These last protectors, neither living nor dead, call themselves the Forlorn Host.

Lia Fáil Rises

Nuada, through his son Daghda, bartered first a truce and then an alliance with the spirits of the infinity circuit and the long-sleeping dome of crystal seers. Bringing his displaced people to inhabit the empty craftworld and return it to life once more.

During this period of reconstruction, Nuada names himself High Autarch; a title hearkening back to the most ancient myths of the eldar race. Bringing together the lost Nemedian exodites, he opens trade with Ulthwe and Altansar (the latter costing him some good grace from the more suspicious eldar tribes), Yme Loc and Ybraesil. The ranks of the new Lia Fáil craftworld fill; its streets bustle with activity, its parks ring with music and the gentle laughter of the living once again.

But Nuada is devoted to the craft of war. And Nemed is not forgotten...

Craftworld Fáil: The High Autarch (Part 1)

2015-01-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Most craftworlds are governed by councils - seers, autarchs, administrators - the composition of the ruling body changes depending upon the craftworld's needs. In the case of Craftworld Fáil, there is but one authority; the High Autarch, Nuada Airgadhleam - Nuada "of the Silver Arm".

Every army needs a figurehead! For mine, I've chosen one of my favorite units; the Autarch. I wanted to create a unique autarch, one who aspires to be more than a simple vehicle for wargear and tweak reserve rolls. I chose Nuada of the Silver Arm, a central character from the Tuatha De Danann, as mine. Nuada suffered many setbacks (not least of which was losing his arm in battle and being dethroned) but never stopped fighting to find a home for his tribe.

Origins

Nuada is counted as old even among the Eldar. Originally hailing from the Biel Tan craftworld, he pursued the Path of the Warrior for many years before his first selection as Autarch. Time after time he was chosen for that role by the seers of Biel Tan, until the Path of Leadership became a burden. He bid goodbye to his long-time partner Morriagh and his grown son Lugh and set out upon the Path of the Outcast.

Corsair

Nuada's skill at battle and planning served him well among the Night Shrikes corsair band, where he quickly rose to command first his own warband, then his own ship, then his own fleet. In time he was the leader of the entire Night Shrike fleet, sowing devastation amongst their victims and reaping the rewards of piracy.

Exodite

At length he retired to the exodite world of Nemed, where he started another family with a new lover, the seer Macha. Macha gave him two sons, Daghda and Elatha, and for a time Nuada new peace.

Peace deserted him, though, when it was revealed that a large colonial flotilla was bound for their pristine home. Imperial servitor probes had deemed the world ideal for colonization and colony freighters, their holds bulging with colonists, supplies and escorted by a detachment of the Imperial Navy.The sparsely populated forest world of the eldar would be outnumbered by thousands to one.

The war which followed was a bloody delaying action, the Eldar forces holding critical Webway portals through which the exodite noncombatants fell back. As the last of his adopted people fled into the Webway from the encroaching Imperium, Nuada swore two terrible oaths - one to find a home for the Nemedian exodites, another to punish humanity for its invasion - and left.

Exile

In the ensuing years, Nuada helped find the displaced exodites temporary homes, either among more accepting craftworlds or aboard corsair ships. He assumed the mantle of a corsair once again to support them, selling the Night Shrikes' services in payment for hosting the 'uncouth' exodites on the sacred, traditionalist craftworlds.

During this time Nuada became more involved with the seers of Ulthwe, and was frequently seen departing that craftworld with full complements of seers, Harlequins and Dark Reapers. Such expeditions returned after long absences, their hosts much reduced in number. None spoke of where they had been, but it was surmised they had been stalking the territories around the Eye.

In truth, Nuada had struck a bargain with the Ulthwe seer council; the services of his fleet during the forthcoming Black Crusade in return for a home in which his people could dwell.

The Eye of Terror

It was during Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade that Nuada earned his part of the bargain. The Night Shrikes fleet transported large detachments of eldar warriors into the Eye itself in order to strike key supply centers of the traitor legions and attack those individuals - human and daemon alike - which posed the gravest of threats to the eldar, as predicted by the Ulthwe council.

He also played a part in the search for the lost craftworld Altansar, and it was during this time that Nuada lost his arm in single combat against the daemon prince Sreng, having it replaced with a silver prosthesis so that he might continue to fight during the rest of the campaign. Many eldar died, and the Night Shrikes as well as the exodites of Nemed suffered terrible losses.

Lia Fáil: the Stone of Destiny

The Ulthwe were as good as their word, if only just. In return for his people's service, the Ulthwe directed Nuada to a derelict craftworld, called "Lia Fáil", which had been floating unpiloted in the void since the Fall. Because it was uninhabited, the webway portals upon the craftworld were closed, so the eldar would be forced to travel there by the long path. Nuada gathered together all of his people and set out for the home promised them by their allies.

But the craftworld was not devoid of inhabitants...

Craftworld Fáil: Origins

2015-01-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

Forget everything you've never read about Craftworld Fáil! After half-hearted, lily-livered attempts at piecing together the mythology of my homebrewed Eldar army over the past 10 years or so, inspiration has taken me in another direction.

While I don't expect that everyone will be excited by the minutiae of yet-another-home-made craftworld, it may be helpful for someone who wants to write their own, to fully develop a background for their own army and build into it some character that makes it uniquely THEIRS. Hopefully this article will help those readers out.

Why bother?

It's a matter of aesthetics, I suppose. The rich background fluff of the 40K universe has ample material to pull from, and those who want a bit more flavor "out of the can" can dip into any number of clans/craftworlds/chapters/legions/septs/broods and their many offshoots if it's simply a matter of identifying a style of play that you like or even a particular color scheme.

Many players have an urge to add something more to their army. Whether it be a desire to express their individuality or expand on some neglected sliver of the Warhammer universe with their own insights, they feel a creative urge to mark something of their own, to put their stamp on it, as it were.

I know that is certainly the case for me, and has been for a while. When I first started playing the game back during 3rd edition I thought it was silly to get that invested in a war game where that painstakingly detailed warlord might spend all of 90 seconds on the table, but after a long while in the hobby I finally came around to the idea.

Figuring Out What You Want

For me it's taken a LONG time to figure out just what it was I wanted. There are a lot of factors involved in this sort of thing. Here are a few considerations I had to mull over:

What kind of army do you want to play?
What color scheme?
What sets this army apart?
What material are you going to draw from?
How does everything tie together?

My answers to the above questions did not arrive easily nor in any particular order. I knew that I like to play varied lists, so I didn't want to be tied down to a particular build or play style; I wanted to play whatever style suited my mood, be that Seer Council based, Iyanden style, Saim Hann style or guardian hordes.

The color scheme I arrived at by trial and error. I liked the stark contrast of Ulthwe and Biel Tan but was not thrilled about the green of Biel Tan nor the bone white of Ulthwe. I liked the base color of Alaitoc but the mottled camo look didn't work for me. Thus I arrived at a combination of basic white with dark blue (Regal Blue/Imperial Blue and Ceramic White, or it's current equivalents). This worked especially well considering that I planned on using lots of Dire Avengers (the 4th ed codex had recently been released).

When prepping my tanks and vypers, I immediately thought of the Vought F4U Corsairs from Baa Baa Black Sheep (a show which I watched religiously as a kid), with their navy blue tops and white undercarriages. Color scheme done!

The next part was harder: what did set this army apart? I used almost every unit from the codex at one time or another and I definitely had favorites, but for the most part it was a generic Eldar army. That was when I started thinking of Special Characters. Eldrad is a beast and the Phoenix Lords are amazing under the right circumstances, but I wanted to add my own flavor to it. More on this in later posts. I realized that the individuality of this army was going to be based primarily on the characters that led it.

The choice of background material was an easy one for me. The Eye of Terror codex and worldwide campaign was one of the most evocative creations I'd seen in my tender years as a 40k gamer. The Ulthwe strike force in particular, but the setting, the stakes and the massive community involvement were inspiring, to say the least. I wanted to tie my army into that conflict, even if only in a historical context.

Years later, with the release of the Doom of Mymeara, I hit upon another captivating idea; Corsairs. Since then I've stocked up on corsair infantry kits, shadow specters, and I'm slowly working my way up to a squadron of hornets and maybe a warp hunter.

Then last year the new Eldar codex dropped and I've been in nerd heaven ever since. Wraith units - always the ugly stepchild of the Eldar - were now a top tier unit with 4 different unit configurations. The wraithknight was added, along with two flyers and a host of options for the Avatar.

Which brings us to the last question; how to tie it all together?

For me it was more a matter of a slumgullion of ideas percolating away in my brain over the course of years. But just like a seed crystal dropped into a supersaturated solution of sugar water, the final straw came in the form of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

I'd known of the Tuatha Dé Danann since I was a teenager at least, when I happened across a copy of the Irish myth in the form of Jim Fitzpatrick's fantastically illustrated Book of Conquests. It was a splendid rendition of the epic struggle of the Children of Danu against the Fhoi Myore in early Ireland and it captivated my imagination for hours at a time.

Instead of inventing some standard kitted-out HQs and applying a randomly generated Celtic-sounding names to them, I resolved to use the primary characters from the tribe of Danu as my model for the special characters. Perhaps I could come up with some workable special equipment or rules around them as well.

This post is already getting rather long, so I will close out now simply by saying that I did not arrive at this point of crystallization quickly or easily. In fact it was the culmination of the better part of 10 years of back-burner consideration.

TL;DR? Don't be in a hurry.

More anon. Cheers!

Corsairs in 7th Edition

2015-01-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, before the advent of the most recent Eldar codex, I fawned over the Corsairs as presented in Imperial Armour 11: The Doom of Mymeara. How have the mighty space elf pirates held up through two editions of the game and a new codex?

What's Old is Now New

First of all, Forgeworld has issued some updates for the Corsairs as part of their 6th edition updates, but they are not released as part of a single update. Rather they were released piecemeal by subject. You can find the updates here.

Note that you will have to download a bunch of pdfs; one for the Shadow Specters, one for Iryllith, one for psykers and one for vehicles, to name a few.

The good news is that no 7th ed update is required, so you should be fine with the book and the pdf updates linked above.

The bad news is that Corsairs don't get Ancient Doom or Battle Focus! If you are an Eldar player you know how important Battle Focus is these days. Being able to run and shoot (or vice versa) is a vital strength.

More good news comes from Army Builder; their Corsair list has been updated so that their equipment and wargear follows the convention established in the latest codex. Thus, lasblasters get 3 shots, shuriken weapons get bladestorm, shimmershields grant a 5++ save all the time, and so on.

So while the individual models may have lost Battle Focus, at least the rest of their standard eldar equipment works the same way as their Craftworld kin.

Incompatibilities

It's not so rosy for the unit entries in IA11 that mimic their craftworld cousins, though. The rules for falcons, serpents and other units pulled directly from the main eldar book list their rules explicitly. Thus a rules-lawyery player could argue that you have to use the 'old' rules with your corsair models rather than the updated versions in Codex:Eldar.

My first answer to this is; don't play with this person.

My second answer to this is; Night Spinners. While the new monofilament rule is interesting, I much prefer the old lock-every-unit-in-place-until-they-make-a-dangerous-terrain-test version, even with the lower strength. Even knowing that dangerous terrain tests allow for armor saves now! I'll take twin-linked barrage over non-TL every time.

My opinion is that anything that has a counterpart in the main eldar codex should mimic the rules presented therein rather than the IA11 rules. That way you don't have two different kinds of wave serpents or harlequins or falcons on the table. It's simpler and it makes sense.

The Good, Bad and Ugly

Despite the fact that the statline of your average corsair now suffers a drop in WS and Initiative, I don't think the corsairs have fared badly. For one thing, they have access to the Craftworld Outcasts. This means you can bring a squad wraithguard with D-Scythes as elites and have your Corsair Prince grant them Deep Strike. If you have no-scatter deep strike tricks, so much the better!

The Nightwing Interceptor is now the best flyer in the game. With a 4+ cover save all day long, bumping to 2+ if they choose to jink, they are capable anti-air fighters and can hunt down monstrous creatures with ease. They are also cheaper than the crimson hunter.

Corsair jet packs got a bit of a bump too with the 2d6 jump move during the assault phase. Of course with Battle Focus it would be even better but oh well!

In short, I think the Corsairs have gotten a tad better since they first came out, and you can expect to see some news of my progress with my Umbral Shrike warband as I dive back into hobbying once more!

The Return of Craftworld Fáil

2014-12-30T13:24:00.003-08:00

I'm back! After a hiatus of more than a year (not really true, just haven't been blogging or playing much), I have returned, re-energized and re-invigorated. And really, what's fourteen months to one of the Immortal Folk?

Partly because I now have a direction for my Eldar, play-wise and fluff-wise, and partly because I just got my first game of 7th Edition in this weekend.

So what comes next? After the jump...

7th Edition Impressions

First off, I have to say that I like 7th edition so far (yes that's only one game in, but I got a taste of two of my biggest worries - Maelstrom missions and the Psychic Phase). Tactical objectives are fun. I have a feeling they are less fun for less mobile army lists, but even that drawback can be mitigated by using...

Highlander Army Lists

I became a big fan of this list format the very first moment I heard of it. If you haven't heard of it, it basically limits you to no more than one of each unit unless you have already run out of options for that force org slot - including dedicated transports! This is a great handicap rule for a codex like mine, where wave serpents rule supreme. Why do I like it?

1. It forces you out of your comfort zone. I've played the wave serpent spam list; it is potent, it wins, and it seems rather unfair even to me, an Eldar player. Now you can only bring one in your list, maybe two if you are lucky, forcing you to adopt new strategies and explore new tricks.

2. Variety. You can bring a bigger variety of units to the table. More options = more fun!

3. Morale. After years of flailing around as a bad Eldar player, it's disheartening to have a powerful codex and have people roll their eyes at you because they see it as simple cheese. No one likes to get rolled over and highlander lists can at least give the impression of a more even playing field.

Craftworld Fáil

Also, finally, some ideas about my custom craftworld have begun to crystallize. I'll be posting more on this in the future, but the final piece of the puzzle fell into place for me.

What I want is not just a custom color scheme, a custom army list, and some cut-and-paste fluff behind it, but rather a whole contiguous feel, and I think I've got it. After years of false starts and uninspiring ideas, I found one that works for me.

Indeed, it's even inspiring me to start putting together a campaign based around the Craftworld's story...

More anon!

The OTHER Ancient Enemy

2013-09-22T11:07:00.002-07:00

Got to play with a bunch of folks at an Independent Characters' event yesterday and it was a lot of fun. I played in two games; a 1500 mano-a-roboto slugfest vs. Necrons and then in a Zone Mortalis team game (Eldar & Ravenwing vs. Plague Marines and Necrons). Got thoroughly trounced in both by necrons - I haven't played against them that much, so it was a real learning experience.

I'm struggling with ideas for how to deal with necrons as a generic force. I was prepared for the massed gauss fire but struggled with their improved armor (ok so i need to bring more melta/lance). Additionally got my first taste of Mindshackle Scarabs in a duel between the necron lord and my Avatar.

First time I've ever seen the Avatar suicide!

So the array of abilities brought to the table by necrons present some difficulty for Eldar.

Resurrection and Regeneration. That 5+ roll (4+ with Res Orb) is a real bitch. A blob squad of 20 warriors + Res Orb lord and backed up by two Ghost Arks presents real difficulties for the Eldar. Eldar are great at shooting, but when half to two thirds of your wounded enemies are getting back up every turn, that neutralizes your advantage. On top of that, necron guns outrange you, so you will be taking casualties too, even with Battle Focus.
AV 13. Granted that the 13 only counts until you get a pen, it becomes all that more important for you to bring lance and whatever S9 weapons you can. Since the only real S9 in the arsenal is the Fire Prism, I suppose it would be more efficient to start loading up on lances in your defender guardian squads. Also, an Icarus Lascannon in an Aegis Defence Line seems mandatory to deal with the obnoxious necron flyers.
Mindshackle Scarabs. I have no answer to this one. In old school Dungeons & Dragons this would be called a Save or Die situation. For 15 points your lord can not only negate the attacks of a LD10 character, it also makes that character inflict attacks on itself. It's not psychic, so you can't stuff it with Deny the Witch. Devastating!
The dread 3+ invulnerable save. Wraiths. Lords with Phase Shifters. These things suck. The answer to this seems to be the same as the answer to TH/SS termies; massed fire. Of course it's a lot harder to pull that off when your 3+ is buried in a mob of guys that get back up every time you kill them.

The ideas I have to deal with the above include Crimson Hunter Exarchs (for knocking off armor, downing flyers and skimmers and picking off the occassional character with Precision Shot), the aforementioned lascannon, and dark reapers. Reapers with starshot might be the most effective means of dealing with AV13 and/or keeping the horde trimmed, and throwing them behind the Aegis would probably help, ignoring jink and all. The only real problem is they are expensive and a HUGE target.

So how do you folks deal with necrons? I'm curious...

Banshees: Something to Howl About?

2013-09-15T09:47:00.002-07:00

By now, even I'm getting tired of working up cheeky cultural references to tie into my posts, so I'll stop. I promise, soon.

So what's with Banshees now? There's been a lot of heat about how they 'were lackluster before, but now they are full of fail! FAIL!'

People who diss Banshees usually cite the usual reasons; the weakness of assault units combined with a soft stat line, the reduced strength of power weapons, etc. And while those are all valid issues, is it really all that hopeless?

The Banshees arguably got the short end of the stick in their latest incarnation. At 15 points a pop - a whopping ONE POINT SAVINGS OVER 5th EDITION!!! - you are basically getting a storm guardian + a power weapon and a mask.

The mask has changed rather dramatically. Rather than 'going first' or 'striking at Initiative 10' on the first round of combat, they instead reduce the Initiative of the charged unit by five. IMHO, this is BETTER than previous incarnations because even if something hoses the banshees' initiative, it will still mostly likely be better than that of the unit they are charging. The catch here is that the banshees need to be the one initiating the assault. Hmm.

... you know, I just can't make this work. It seems like no matter what I come up with it turns into another "Exarch Delivery System" or requires at least one other unit as a crutch to make it workable at ALL. Otherwise the banshees seem to deteriorate into a distraction unit. While you might be able to pair up the banshees with another, harder unit to soften up the assault target/provide cover/distraction, there are very few units I can think of in the Eldar arsenal that will do that economically. D-Scythe wraithguard come to mind, but honestly, why would you use them that way when they can vaporize pretty much anything on their own?

Feh.

No, Fear the Reaper! Really!

2013-08-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

We've looked at Swooping Hawks, Striking Scorpions, and Shining Spears. The ugly stepchildren have been covered in some depth, so now I'm moving on to one of our more crunchy units: Dark Reapers!

Now I don't cotton to these new-fangled (i.e. 5th edition) dark reaper models. Really, with the bulletheads and big bat-wing ears it's even harder to take these guys seriously than it is the Night Lords. I like the simple, 3rd ed models; skull helmets and power armor. Nice, clean, gets the point across. But whatever.

1. Mini-Squad

I like the new rules for Reapers: a 3+ armor save, Slow and Purposeful (yep these guys don't get fleet or battle focus, so no shooting then running into cover!), reaper range finders; this is the most mobile version of Reapers to date.

However. Three guys won't buy you much on the table for 90 points. A great gun for killing MEQs or even bikes at range, especially since with their default gear they will ignore jink rolls (reaper rangefinder). The ability to upgrade their guns to starshot (krak) missiles is even better. Look out skimmers!

There are cons to these guys, though. Six shots at S5/AP3 really isn't all that much once you start crunching the numbers. Also Slow and Purposeful denies them the ability to fire their heavy weapons (even as snap shots) and then dive into cover. The final nail in the coffin is their inability to fire overwatch. Yikes.

My gut feel is that 3 reapers is an easy kill point for your opponent, so unless you can hid them from opportunistic shooting I wouldn't bother.

2. Maxi-Squad

Hold up! For a whopping 300 points, you can now field a squad of ten of these guys! First time ever; in the past the squad was always capped at 5 models, including the exarch. At 10 models you are churning out 20 reaper shots or 10 starshot missiles(for an additional 80 points). This gives reapers an unparalleled ability to take down skimmer squadrons. Me like!

Stick these guys in an Aegis defense line near a quad-gun or icarus lascannon and protect them; this is a relatively cheap way to counter aircraft. Yes they will die in droves to heldrakes, but so will everything else in your army. Here you at least have a fighting chance. Me very like!

The only difficulty with this setup besides keeping the enemy out of your face (remember, no overwatch!), is making back the points cost.

Side note: A lot of people think in terms of a unit making its points-worth back. I think that's a mistake; the value of a unit is not my unit cost = your your unit cost, particularly in the case of things like heldrakes. The value of the reapers in this case is the value of the unit they kill PLUS the value that enemy unit might have killed if left unopposed. End side note.

3. Exarch

The dark reaper exarch is a lovely little 10 point upgrade. On his own he's otherwise identical to a standard dark reaper plus the usual profile bump. He does, however, come with a whopping array of options.

Exarch Upgrades:
The usual 2-out-of-3 option limit. Night Vision is cheap, a 5 point upgrade that negates Night Fighting for the entire group, and easily a great value choice for picking off those choice targets at range at the beginning or end of a Night Fighting mission. Or Imotekh.

Fast Shot ups your exarchs shooting output but really depends on what equipment you choose. More on that later.

Marksman's Eye is another good one, granting Precision Shot on a 5+. Marksman's Eye pairs well with both other powers; Fast Shot granting more opportunities for the 5+ while with Night Vision your are hopefully getting more precision shots on enemy units before they can even see you.

Exarch Equipment:
There are a grand total of SIX different loadouts you can configure your reaper exarch with. Either default (starswarm) with or without starshot for 10 points, or a shuriken cannon for free, or and eldar missile launcher for 10. IF you opt for the EML you can upgrade it to flakk for another ten points. And finally the Tempest Launcher.

The Tempest Launcher looks good, but I just don't know. It has a shorter range than the rest of the squad, and while it has 2 shots at S4/AP3, I'm just not sure if it's worth the cost. Additionally, it has the Barrage rule so you can fire it out of line of sight, but of course if you are doing that, you lose the shots from the rest of the squad since the exarch does not come with Split Fire. Boo.

In the end it will come down to personal preference. I prefer the reaper launcher, with or without starshot based on what the rest of the unit is carrying. Shuriken cannons are a good option now with bladestorm, too. EML and Tempest are kind of meh to me now. Scattering blasts don't appeal that much unless I know I'm dealing with massed, light armored opponents.

4. Phoenix Lord

Oh Maugan Ra how I have missed you! I won't go through the long list of his abilities due to time constraints, but suffice it to say he's what exarchs SHOULD be; he gets Split Fire.

My favorite use for him in a squad of as many reapers as you can afford: put them all in an Aegis Defense Line near the AA battery. Maugan Ra will handle the Interceptor fire: +1 shot, re-rolling 1s due to high BS, ignore jink, and skyfire adds up to one dead flyer as soon as it hits the table. Then on his own turn he can fire the Maugetar. Awesome. Expensive! But awesome.

My configuration of choice is Maugan Ra leading a maxed out squad of Reapers with no exarch. This will cost you a whopping 495 points, plus the Aegis and whichever AA gun you choose, but it is a solid, reliable unit killer. You just have to devote some reserves (reserve forces not "Reserves") to protecting them so they can keep killing.

Striking Scorpions

2013-08-01T13:40:00.002-07:00

We've looked at Swooping Hawks, we've looked at Shining Spears. Let's mix things up with an assault unit: Striking Scorpions!
But assault is nerfed! There's no point in running assault units because assault sucks! Farseer Fail why are you wasting time with melee units?!?!?! Blah blah blah! Ah shut up. Eldar are the hammer today, but all of that could change with the next codex release, so don't be lazy. It always pays to be aware of your options, no? Arguments? I thought not.

Okay, I'll concede a point on motivation. I have a nicely painted squad of scorpions - with a matching Karandras. They aren't the old "2-dimensional" scorps of 2nd/early 3rd ed, nor the "I'm a mini-Predator GRR" of the 4th ed model release, but the spindly, goofy, duelist-looking interim scorpies.


Huzzah! Avaunt, ye low-borne monkeigh!

See? ( Image ruthlessly stolen via Google image search; all props to the painter of this fine squad)

I was actually surprised that The Kelly took a step backwards in time with the scorpions. Rather than mandiblasters granting an extra attack, they grant a piddly S3 AP- attack but at Initiative 10. I'm not really clear on how well this works in practice. It seems weaker, but anything that occurs automatically at I 10 is probably a good thing these days.

The scorpy chainsword now grants +1 S and is AP6, so great through ripping through... anything with an already-crappy armor save... hm? Not exactly a minus, but I'm stretching here to see exactly what AP6 buys me. I guess roughly they will inflict 1 in 6 more wounds than normal vs. Orks, Kroot and ... I don't know what else.

Well it's not all doom and gloom! They benefit from Battle Focus and Fleet like other Eldar units; that's a first. They also get Move Through Cover, Fleet and Stealth. So deploy last and up close OR outflank, roll extra d6 though cover, ignore dangerous terrain, and +1 cover save. This will let at least let them start the game in a position where they can at least resist any first turn shooting.

1. Mini-squad

Your 85 points buys you a pretty solid little assault unit that can pump out a fair number of attacks, roughly equivalent to a five-man Assault Squad (minus the power fists and special weapons). Five mandiblaster attacks followed by 15 chainswords at AP 6. That's not bad when you take into account that a small squad like this can easily be placed pretty far forward and in cover thanks to Infiltrate, Stealth and Move Through Cover.

In this configuration they are a pretty cheap speed bump unit, or can be used to create assault blobs or distractions during the early game. Alternately you could use them to protect the flanks of your gun line. As a cheap support unit to counter an enemy's assault unit, you could do a lot worse. Storm guardians might be cheaper, but IMHO guardians are far more useful for hopping out of wave serpents and claiming/contesting objectives.

The traditional role of the scorpions has been as assault, but that T3 is working against us now, even with their heavy aspect armor. So it's almost better to let them catch an assault in the teeth so they can fire off their shuriken weapons on overwatch, an I10 mandi attack and 2 CC attacks at high initiative. Almost.

And think of the annoyance factor of having a squad of scorpions move up through cover, pop off their shurikens, then melt back into cover again with that re-rollable Battle Focus move. Taunting you, I am!

2. Maxi-squad

Double up to 10 models and 170 points and you get more of the same. At this point it will be harder to hide a unit on foot simply due to their size. If you don't have sizable terrain to hunker down in, you're better off putting them in a wave serpent. Of course your damage output is now higher and a full-sized squad will pour out 10 mandis and 30 chainsword attacks. This unit will weather overwatch a bit better (again due solely to size). Taunting works better as well (more shots!), so overall you're more likely to launch an assault successfully.

In this case I'd say that 170 points and more models buys you more 'per point' than the 5-man squad.

3. Exarch

Gosh where to start? The exarch costs you 10 points over the regular scorpion with the usual benefits; a slightly pumped up stat line. And since those pumped scores all directly affect assault, it's worth it to bring an Exarch on that basis alone.

Exarch Upgrades: The scorpy exarch has three choices of powers; Monster Hunter, Stalker, and Crushing Blow. Stalker is the only challenge-specific ability, giving you the chance of re-rolls on wounds in a duel. Monster Hunter is straight out of the book; re-roll on wounds vs. monstrous creatures, while Crushing Blow just grants a straight-up +1 Strength.

Exarch Equipment: Three choices here aside from the pistol/chainsword. The scorpion exarch weapons have always (IMHO) kinda sucked. Biting Blade gives you S5 AP4 like a power maul, but at the expense of the extra attack because it's two-handed. Chainsabres up the ante on the standard scorpion profile; 2 shuriken shots and a bonus attack. But Scorpion's Claw is a great-looking option despite its high cost - a power fist at high initiative? Yes please! Oh and it's not a "specialist weapon" so you will gain the benefit of having two close combat weapons. No wonder it's 30 points!

My favorite options are going to have to be Crushing Blow and Stalker with a scorpion's claw; S8 AP2 power fist at Initiative 6. It works on just about everything and no IC or character in their right mind is going to want to get anywhere near that in a duel (if they have a choice).

The upgrades and equipment don't make a whole lot of sense to me. Two out of three options from both the Upgrades and Equipment tend to gear the exarch toward monster hunting. But if you go monster hunting with your scorpion exarch, what are the other guys supposed to do except die in droves? I suppose they can take look out sir rolls or contribute the odd wound with bladestorm rolls from their pistols, but other than that these monster hunter builds don't really cut it to me. No pun intended.

4. Phoenix Lord

Karandras is a tank, big surprise. He carries a scorpion chainsword and a scorpion's claw (pow!) as well as an improved mandiblaster (S6 auto-hit at I10). He's not someone you want to tangle with in close combat. He'll be swinging away with a base of 5 power fist attacks at I7, and should make short work against almost anything. At 230 points, is he worth it though?

Unfortunately he suffers from the same sort of weapons/options gearing problems that exarchs do. With six power fists on the charge striking at his incredibly high initiative and re-rolling wounds vs. MCs and probably ICs in duels, he's really set up for monster hunting. Stalker let's him He grants Night Vision, which is no real help when the entire unit has a range limit of 12". I suppose you could stick him somewhere else with a ranged unit, since the Disciples rule has been repealed, but that's not terribly fluffy. I like the idea of PLs leading their aspects into battle.

Ultimately he's going to add some serious bang to a full squad of scorpions, if only because they will be providing him lots of extra Look Out Sir rolls as they sprint across the field into the thick of the fighting. He also takes the place of an exarch, since there would be too much overlap to make an exarch of that much use unless you have a particular special use for him.

That's a flat 400 points for 35cc attacks (5 power fists) and 11 mandiblasters (one that auto-hits at S6) on the charge and will make short work of any low-armored unit. They are not terribly susceptible to overwatch with their 3+ save but will be taxed in combat when going up against other units with a 3+.

The key to making a unit like this work for you is to make maximum use of its NON-combat abilities; Infiltrate, Battle Focus, Fleet, Stealth. Positioning the unit correctly - preferably in cover and close to the front line so that they face a minimum of fire going in and can get to their target while only dealing with overwatch before they get stuck in. Wave Serpent support could be useful if you're trying to get at uncontested or unprotected assets, or in a grouped attack with another unit supporting it.

In any event, I could easily see a use for scorpions. Even at low points value they can be an effective harassment unit, running interference and taking irritating pot shots at passing units in hopes of drawing them in. At higher numbers they are a decent assault unit, particularly with an exarch or Karandras.

Until next time!

Shining Spears? Really?

2013-07-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, Shining Spears! What, you wanna fight? Well, maybe Shining Spears. I mean, sure. Why not?
I'll even break it down for ya like I did with the Swoopies, Farseer Fail-style.

But why, O Farseer Fail, WHY? Aren't the Shining Spears the one unit that is consistently full of FAIL, regardless of version?

Well hold on there, gypsy. Yes, this aspect has been traditionally overcosted (which is after all just another way of saying they suck), but let's break it down, shall we?

Back in 3rd edition the Shining Spears were introduced at a whopping 50 points per model - that's right, without even the benefit of 5th ed jetbike rules, you're paying more per model than you would for terminators.

Anyway, fast-forward to 6th edition where they are only 25 points a model. And they should be cheaper, given that they are an assault unit and assaults are much less forgiving to initiate in this version of the game.

1. Mini-squad

Your typical 3-elf squad, for 75 points. They don't look like much, do they? Three jetbikes with all mod cons - turbo, jink, assault move, TL shuricats, but with a few nice plusses. Skilled Rider "Why yes I will take that terrain test thank you, and pass it!", Outflank (Used to be WIN now it's just MEH), and the Laser Lance.

The Lance took a hit, of sorts, but it's the same hit that every other power weapon took. It's still a S6 AP3 (note: not AP4 like before) gun with the Lance special rule and a piddly 6" range, and it's still S6 on the assault - first round only - and AP3.

You're now looking at 3 mediocre shots that will ping a rhino with relative reliability, followed by 6 potent power weapon attacks followed by - nothing.

Given that we're talking about three models here, I'll go ahead and say what you're thinking: these guys won't make it to their destination before being picked off by quad-guns or helturkeys. IF they even rate that high. And even with Turbo-Jink, they die to massed bolter fire just fine. And Overwatch is particularly bad against small units. And suppose they do deliver their payload without casualties - you are looking at what, 3 to 4 wounds vs. marines? And you can forget about using these guys to trim terminator units like before. Bleh.

That's why you're not going to buy a three- man squad. Go big or go home.

2. Maxi-squad

What ho, stranger? Spears can be taken in squads of up to nine models now? Hmm! So nine guys costs you 225. Now you are looking at 9 of those lance shots at close range - the better to esplode transports with! And a much more satisfying punch with all those extra attacks. Same shenanigans with movement, but harder to pull off if you are in constricting terrain because - oh wait yeah Skilled Rider!

Still a bit pricey if you're up against anti-cover or anti-jink weaponry but pretty stout. This unit will draw some attention.

3. Exarch

Oh exarchs, you so crajay! Although this guy only costs 10 points more than your average Shining Spear - making him one of the cheapest exarchs you can get btw - you are getting the usual value for your money: +1 I and +1 A. Not sold? Okay, let's keep going.

Exarch Upgrades: The SS exarch has the usual '2-out-of-3' options to pick from: Monster Hunter, Disarming Strike, and Hit & Run. Monster Hunter is the cheapest and may be decent if you want to go hunting high-toughness targets. Disarming Strike is my personal favorite for adding insult to injury ("Daemon weapon? *pa-CHING!* That looks like a combat knife to me!") - a simply superb option for exarchs considering what's waiting out there for them. Hit & Run is pricey but ultimately worth it, as it gives you that option of staying in combat to avoid being shot or pulling back out to reinitiate an assault on your own terms. Gold.

Exarch Equipment: Feeling a little third edition here, to be honest. You can swap your exarch's Laser Lance for a power weapon for FREE if you like - because who wouldn't want to give up 3 points of strength, right? Then there's the Star Lance, which is what Laser Lances want to be when they grow up. In the shooting phase the Star Lance is a myopic bright lance, but on the assault it's a killer - S8, AP2 and STILL a Lance weapon! Another great weapon for duels, but suitable for cracking land raiders as well (one S8 lance in shooting, then 3 more in assault). And if even half your unit remains for that assault, you will have more than enough models to wrap around those exits - bye bye passengers!

So my ideal build would be exarch with Hit & Run and Star Lance, and maybe Disarming Strike if you're feeling lucky. Put this guy in charge of 8 other Spears and you've got a deadly unit: eight S6 AP3 Lance shots, one S8 AP2 Lance shot, then in assault three S8 AP2 attacks followed by sixteen S6 AP3 - all against AV 12 at the worst.

This is starting to look like a hammer unit you can throw at almost any hard target... IF you can keep them alive long enough to get there.

4. No Phoenix Lord.

I dig PLs, but the Shining Spears didn't get one! They do, however, have some intersting options in the HQ department - an Autarch or Farseer. The Farseer can provide some additional defense and amps up the offensive capabilities of the unit nicely, but I think the real gem here is the Autarch.

The JB Autarch can bring the same weapon as the Spears themselves, and tote a nasty varity of alt-weapons and gear for the shooting phase; deathspinner, fusion gun, reaper launcher, and so on. I won't even get into the But he can also buy a Banshee mask. And with that 5 point purchase, you've reduced any unit the Spears charge gets -5 Initiative. You basically get to make all your attacks first. Pretty good.

Also you're adding Ld10 to the mix and a whopping four attacks to the all-important charge.

I wouldn't want to stare down the barrel of 9 Spears led by an Autarch.

Here's How I Look At Eldar Now

2013-07-21T15:07:00.003-07:00

I should be in the garage painting up any of a thousand different models, but I'm lazy and decided to write this instead.

With the new codex release, Teh Webz is all a-twitter with new meta builds, Eldar fanboy gushing, Eldar hater rage and all the usual nonsense that surrounds every new release. But for you, the budding/veteran/lapsed Eldar player, there are a few more important fish to fry.

Given that

A) Eldar list building has more to do with your local gaming circle than some global abstract be-all, end-all list-making would have you believe, and

B) you, as a player have a distinctive play style or preference

it is important to keep in mind that not everyone's analysis is particularly accurate. In fact, web-based research can only give you decent data on the purely statistical performance of a unit. That's why right now everyone is OMGing about guardians. It seems there's little room for discussion of anything but wraithknights and guardians these days.

No, as a mature and discerning Eldar player you need to think about the Eldar differently.

These days I tend to think of a unit and its capabilities in the following ways:
1. Minimum sized load-out.
2. Maximum sized load-out.
3. Plus exarch.
4. In the case of Aspect Warriors - what can a Phoenix Lord bring to the unit?

With that skeleton of a criterion system, let's take a look at one of the perennial red-headed stepchildren of the Eldar: Swooping Hawks.

Swooping Hawks got a bump in a number of ways. For one thing, their lasblasters got an extra shot, and they now get Skyleap for free and don't scatter when using deep strike. Add fleet and battle focus on top for a re-rollable d6 run move to disperse after landing - we hate blasts and templates! Despite these improvements, there's been virtually NO noise about Swoopies!

My guess is that everything is still being judged by the MEQ ruler (though there is simultaneously no end to the whining and gnashing of teeth regarding how 'uncompetitive' they are - whatever). Also, since they didn't get any special cheese vs. flyers (the other ruler by which all things 40K are measured in the meta), there's another reason to give them a pass.

In that regard they are only slightly better than they were before when performing against generic space marines - again, statistically speaking - and so they have been cast aside as not being competitive enough.

However they come stock with some very useful tricks; haywire and plasma grenades - which, remember now, can be thrown in the shooting phase! They get that awful no-scatter deep strike which they can pull off every other turn, and they can just generally be annoying. An almost-perfect harassment unit!

1. Mini-squad.

Five Swooping Hawks will cost you 80 points, compared to the previous codex where the same squad costed you 25 more. What you get for this is a small unit of standard eldar aspect warriors with jump infantry (not jet pack infantry like the warp spiders), battle focus, fleet, and that sort of thing.

This unit pumps out 15 shots after landing, plus the grenade pack, albeit a small blast version - you need at least 6 models in the unit to use the pie plate version.

Deep strike in without scatter, drop a small blast S4/AP4 which ignores cover, and unload a bunch of AP5 shots. IG should fear these things.

2. Maxi-squad.

10 Swooping Hawks will cost you 160 points. Same gear, same tricks, but this time the grenade pack drops a large blast template - should cover almost an entire unit of veterans hiding behind an Aegis defense line.

Thirty shots plus a pie plate, plus haywire for assaulting vehicles. Looking better.

3. The Exarch.

The swooping hawk exarch is now 7 points cheaper, which should be something. Out of the box he appears to be nothing special so I can't think of any reason that you'd take him... until you outfit him with powers and wargear.

Exarch upgrades: the exarch gets a choice of 2 exarch powers from a total list of three. Two of these powers only affect the exarch himself - night vision (ignore cover from night fighting) and Marksman's Eye (Precision Shot on a 5+). The third, Hit & Run, seems like a no-brainer if you're going to use your hawks in an assault capacity.

Exarch equipment: Two variations on the lasblaster. The Hawk's Talon is basically a S5 variant while the sunrifle gains AP3 and blind - what the what? OK so it's marginally better at popping marines but when it's only wounding on a 5+... ah whatever. You can also buy him a power weapon, but since it's his only CC weapon you won't be getting any additional attacks.

Hmmm, so an exarch with minimal equipment gets you almost nothing but 1 extra CC attack in assault. Bleh. On the other hand, an exarch with a power weapon and a sunrifle may well add some significant value when used against marines. Worth it? I dunno. Maybe.

4. Baharroth.

Baharroth clocks in at around 195 - more than an entire squad of Swooping Hawks with an exarch! For that you get the typical Phoenix Lord profile - a melee bomb. He comes preloaded with a Warlord trait (Falcon's Swiftness) and two exarch powers; Battle Fortune for a 4+ invuln save and the aforementioned Hit & Run.He also comes kitted out with a Hawk's talon and the Shining Blade - a power weapon with the Blind special ability. Which may be good since in close combat Baharroth is going to do all the killing.

He also gets a special trick - Sun's Brilliance. This lets him deep strike in (again with no scatter due to Herald of Victory) and all units within 6" have to take a Blind test.

One of the advantages of bringing a Phoenix Lord is that you can often skip the exarch. That's certainly the case here, so bringing Baharroth in a full-sized squad of hawks will have that added (invisible) bonus.

For 355 points you have 11 guys, deep striking in with no scatter, maybe blinding everyone in the area, dropping a no-cover pie plate, spreading out to minimize reprisal fire, unloading 33 shots (or 30 plus a plasma grenade). Any assault unit is going to face some withering overwatch fire (albeit low strength), and still have the PL to contend with. They will not have morale problems and the next turn they can move, shoot/run and assault or even just fly out again to deep strike in next turn.

Anyway, this is an example of how I'm breaking down units these days. Where weaknesses exist I make a mental note, looking for other things to shore them up from elsewhere in the codex. It's a long, slow process, but one I find helpful. Hopefully you will too!

Why Reinvent the Wheel - Or In This Case, the Skimmer?

2013-07-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, no long blog post today because Fritz already beat me to it.

If you haven't already seen it: This.

More Eldar Thunks

2013-06-22T21:02:00.001-07:00

So now that the Eldar dex has made the rounds, and the webnards have pored over it, consumed it, digested upon it and propounded "I AM THE ONE TRUE 40K GROGNARD AND I SAY THIS!" and the netlisting and other animal grunting noises have been flapped unto the masses... here's what I'm thinking about today.

Scatter Laser (Laser Lock)
This appears - to me - to be the one truly all-purpose secondary weapon for our big gunships. Yes, wraithlords (eh) and absolutely yes wraithknights (not interested), but FALCONS. FALCONS and WAVE SERPENTS!

Others have already pointed out the value of the following loadout on your transports:
Twin-linked Scatter Laser
Shuriken Cannon upgrade
Serpent Shield (shooty mode)

And I must admit it is awesomeness. And while this will chomp through most types of units with the shuriken cannon mini-rending on a 6 and the serpent shield ignoring cover, it also appears to me to be a decent stand-in anti-aircraft tank.

The falcon loadout would be similar:
Pulse laser
Scatter Laser
Shuriken Cannon upgrade

All granting you (quite likely) 2 S8 shots and 7 S6 shots. The balance of those will be twin-linked, regardless of what you're shooting at.

It's almost sad for me to say this, but the Corsair list from Imperial Armour 11 is almost lackluster by comparison. Hopefully Forgeworld will FAQ it soon to bring costs/definitions in line with the main book.

So, That There Must Be the New Eldar Codex

2013-05-27T16:13:00.001-07:00

So yeah. Wow! Been a long while since I've posted anything Eldar (or Tau, or Dark Angels for that matter) but that's because they've ALL received new codices in the last couple months.

I MEAN WHAT THE HELL!!!

First off, I've been focusing on the Dark Angels, grabbing time whenever I can to paint them up and develop a workable list.

Second, in between painting sessions I've been riffling the pages of the Tau and man oh MAN do I like what I see! I'm not so captivated by Voltron or the new flyers, but I'm very interested in building a more infantry based list.

Third, Eldar. Picked up the latest White Dwarf and went through it yesterday.

I must have missed out on the whole giant robot fanboy thing as a kid. I mean, I watched Battle of the Planets and Voltron like any red-blooded American (uh) kid! I had a shipping crate packed with whatever Micronauts or Shogun Warriors I could get my hands on, but the mystique must have faded through time. I must be the only sub-fifty year old dude on the West Coast who isn't falling all over himself about Pacific Rim.

No, look, seriously I'm not complaining! Everything I hear about the wraithknight is good. Yes, it will fold to massed poison/sniper fire but while it's being pinged to death it will be pumping out 3 suncannon shots every turn. That will leave a mark!

I'm more smitten with the flyers.

And if what I hear is true, an across-the-board bump from BS3 to BS4 is outstanding!

And Battle Focus!

And one of the best parts of this whole thing is that the only things I might have to buy (besides the codex) are the new models, since I've got like 10K points of Eldar in the garage.

HAH!

Life is good indeed.

New Blog: Angles of Dorkness

2013-01-24T16:41:00.001-08:00

Hi all, just putting up a notice that I'm starting yet another army-related blog, this time for my Dark Angels army: Angles of Dorkness. I didn't want to water down one blog with three different armies, and yes that does mean I will probably start up a Tau blog at some point down the line when they get their comeuppance!

Play the Game

2013-01-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

Farseer Fail, reporting from the webway once more!

I was recently invited to join the Warrior Lodge segment of the Independent Characters’ podcast. Alongside JR and Ken we discussed – among other things – flyers and their effect on the game, pro and con.

Since the advent of 6^th edition, I’ve been nonplussed by what I’ve seen of both the public (internet) reaction to the new rules and the support of those rules in the tournament community. Practically everywhere you look, particularly at tournaments, fortifications are disallowed or represented only by the Aegis Defense Line, while flyers are becoming more prevalent across the board. Similarly, most TOs won’t allow Allies lists, for whatever reason.

This is stupid.

Why is it stupid? For a variety of reasons. To allow one new facet of the game (Flyers) and disallow others (Fortifications, Allies), you are essentially playing 5^th edition + Flyers.

Flyers

At the tail end of 5^th edition, models were introduced that were flyers in everything but name, but on a standard 40K table (non-Apocalypse, non-Forgeworld) they were downgraded to fast skimmers, and that was fine, because not every army had them, or had ways to deal with them effectively otherwise.

Now it has become clear that every subsequent codex release in 6^th edition will contain flyers, and not one flyer but at least two models, usually a fighter-interceptor type flyer and a bomber/support type flyer. And everyone who has access to them has been lining up to purchase them.

Those who do not have access to flyers grimace and bellyache, knowing that they don’t have a lot to work with against the perceived threat of air dominance and their lamentations fill the Interwebz!

Has it occurred to no one that the rules for 6^th edition were developed as a suite, rather than a dim sum assemblage of rules modules to be picked through and the less tasty bits discarded, based on personal prejudice? Three fortifications were provided in the 6^th edition rulebook, and each one of them allows options that will help deal with the flyer threat, yet no one embraces Fortifications beyond the odd Aegis line in friendly games.

In a similar vein, Allies also allow the player to augment their main force, perhaps with a detachment that will enable the player to better deal with air power or fortifications more handily.

Fortifications

Oh, the whining! At first I was sympathetic to the complaint that Fortifications were going to be problematic for event organizers; they go to all the trouble of providing that terrain and setting it up, then along comes some douche with a Fortress of Redemption. What if the Fortress doesn’t fit? What if the players move the terrain around on the table and screw it up for whomever is placed there next round? What if I put on my big-boy pants and thought about it? Try this on for size:

During placement, Player 1 must place Fortification first during deployment.

o If the player must move a piece of terrain to do so, he gives that terrain piece to Player 2.

o The location of each piece of terrain on the table is marked by a piece of masking tape (duh).

o During Player 2’s turn, that player may place that terrain anywhere on the table (within the rules), or remove it from the table completely.

o At end of game, players return displaced terrain as close as possible to their original locations.

Problem solved. Next?

From what I’ve seen, TOs apply as much time and thought to fine-tuning the terrain placement of their tables as they do to checking to see if their shoes are tied. Nothing against them; who has time to micromanage twenty or thirty tables? Just accept that when players replace the terrain pieces, they may be UPWARDS OF SEVERAL CENTIMETERS off from their original positions. Call the National Guard!

Allies

Allies are perhaps the most-warmly embraced new rule amongst casual players, so I don’t why allowing Allies lists in tournaments is so problematic. Allies are part of the game, and they were meant to flatten the power curve that everyone has been griping about for the past TEN YEARS by allowing you to shore up a particular army or list’s weaknesses.

An Analogy

Think about it this way: you and I will play a friendly game. I will play Tau and you will play hmmm let’s say CSM. Since my Tau codex is 4^th edition, I will play it using 4^th edition rules, meaning that whenever I want to shoot at a unit that is not the CLOSEST unit, I will have to take Target Priority tests. Remember those? I will use all 4^th edition rules, so I will not benefit from Overwatch, nor will I be able to regroup if a unit is below 50% strength (without the bonding knife upgrade, at least), among many other things.

You, on the other hand, have a shiny new 6^th edition codex. You will use all 6^th edition rules wherever they apply. You WILL get Overwatch, you WILL get Precision Strike, and you MAY regroup even when you’ve taken 75% casualties.

Does this sound fair to you? Does it make any sense at all?

I’m not saying everyone MUST play flyers, MUST use fortifications and SHOULD combine with Allies.

But if you are playing the game in such a way that you are excluding some rules and options because they are new or seem unfair given your accumulated experience in a different version of the game, you are not playing Warhammer 40K 6^th edition, and should not try to play that version of the game, nor force your hybridized version of the game on others.

Allies, Flyers and Fortifications are integrated with the rules and benefit the game. Man up. Or girl up. Whatever. Grow a pair of mammalian protruberances and play the game of Sixth Edition.

Craftworld Fáil: the Head of the Snake

2012-11-04T13:35:00.001-08:00

In my last post, I detailed a basic history of my homebrew craftworld. In this one, I'll get into the nuts and bolts of its military composition and how it shapes up on the table.
As mentioned before, Craftworld Urm (its official designation) is led by the aged corsair prince Yragael. His history as an Autarch goes back to his home craftworld of Biel Tan.

HQ

I decided that the leaders of this army would tend to be military types (Autarchs, Princes and Phoenix Lords) rather than Seers. It's not that I have anything in particular against psykers - particularly in the spicy new 6th ed playzone! - but I really like those unit types and I'd like to see them played more often.

True, the Autarch took a bit of a hit in 6th edition. Master Strategist is now sub-optimal; you can only reserve half of your army and if you end up getting your on-table units stomped into oblivion before the cavalry arrives you auto-lose the game.

To represent Yragael, I decided to use my regular Autarch figure. This figure has a history of losing one arm all the time, so I figured I'd work that into the fluff. A one-armed Autarch? The hell, you say! Hey, it's FLUFF. I figure I could also use him as a Corsair Prince in a pinch. Yragael carries no transportation options such as jet packs or jump generators. Flitting around the field is not his role.

For the record, I'm not going to limit myself to playing ONLY Autarchs, but I do like the options they carry and the flavor they bring, so I am going to lean toward playing them when possible.

SANDBOX RULES

So how do I distinguish my special character Yragael from a standard Autarch? Well, assuming that I'm playing in a setting that allows me to write my own rules, I would add a few modifications to an existing unit's rules to try to keep things in balance.

I think the most similar special character in the current rules to Yragael (at least in my mind's eye), would be the Iyanden Autarch Yriel. I suppose I could just run Yragael as a counts-as Yriel in a tight rules environment, but where's the flava?

An Autarch is one of the most technically diverse units in the codex, able to be loaded up with a wider variety of gear than any other model we have access to. The same can be said of the Corsair Prince, so to me Yragael should be the epitome of versatility. Unlike so many other special characters, I believe he needs to be outfitted to match his role in a given list, so I'm keeping his options relatively open as far as wargear.

Ideally I would modify Yragael from the standard autarch/corsair prince profile as follows:

-1 W and -1 A to reflect his advanced age (and missing limb).
Mostly master-crafted weapon options.
Yragael picks his Warlord trait rather than rolling, to reflect his advanced sneakiness.
The usual pick of weapons from either the Autarch or Corsair Prince armories, depending on which role he is fulfilling. In any event, he may only be taken in the main army list (not an Ally choice). The High King answers to no one.
Again, note that he will not be taking transport options (jump jets, wings, jetbike, etc).

I've toyed with an upgraded "master strategist" rule, but I find that ability rather nerfed now that 6E frowns upon null deployment. It would be hard to come up with a version of the rule that satisfies both strategic need and game balance without becoming overpowered. Thus I chose to simply let Yragael pick his own warlord trait at the beginning of the game, before deployment.

Next up are Yragael's three sons. Other than the decision to mount one on a jetbike while the other two are set up with jump generators or swooping hawk wings, I haven't made any definitive decisions regarding their load-out. More to come!

Craftworld Fáil

2012-10-29T11:47:00.003-07:00

I've wanted to design my own Eldar Craftworld for a while now, ever since the Eye of Terror campaign, actually. Nothing has really stopped me, but I find that my best ideas come from a germ of an idea that I simply let bang around in my head for a while. Being an old hand at world-building (I've been running D&D games for 20 years now), I've discovered that this can be a crucial process for weeding out bad ideas and developing good ones.

If you're not interested in fluff, you can probably skip this article. If you're a fluff monkey, you may get a little inspiration from this or at the very least some entertainment value.

First let's start with the 'Why?' Do I really need my own craftworld? There are plenty of other craftworlds out there already with their own fluff, flavor and history. (Incidentally, if you are an Eldar fluff buff, you should really head over to the Overlords UK podcast and listen to Episode 33, they've got a great recap of Eldar history right up to the current status at the end of M41, as well as some interesting ideas about where things seem to be going in the future.

I decided that I wanted a craftworld of my own, with its own flavor, and one that links back a little bit to the less-explored aspects of Eldar society; exodites and corsairs. I also wanted to inject a little bit more of a clannish, medieval flavor. Eldar are elves, after all, and Games Workshop borrows heavily from Gaelic folklore for their Eldar fluff.

So here was one germ of my idea; rather than a Craftworld, I would start with an Eldar corsair clan. The clan leader would be a sort of grasping, climbing opportunist; a feudal lord or prince with hopes of becoming an Ultrarch, a High King-like figure. I call him Yragael.

Yragael is not simply a pirate; he's a pirate with a vision. Not content to eke out an existence scavenging, he wants to establish himself as the Ultrarch of a new Eldar dynasty. Ages ago he began to establish his clan as feudal protectors of Exodite worlds, later becoming a gun-for-hire among the the craftworlds, even performing dangerous missions for contacts within the lesser races. These mercenary actions have earned him the derisive moniker of "Autarch Fáil" - Mercenary Prince - as well as the dismay of the more traditionalist Eldar of Biel Tan.

Yragael is also unusually prolific, for an Eldar. Yragael has three sons, Autarchs and fleet masters all. They have inherited their father's drive to build a new Eldar empire.

All Yragael's scheming was not in vain, however. He amassed considerable wealth in the form of materiel, trade goods and favors. Using this wealth as the foundation of his personal empire, Yragael began the lengthy task of establishing new Exodite colonies.

His success amongst the more backward elements of Eldar society did little to repair his reputation amongst the craftworlders. Still viewed as little more than a pirate, and one who consorts with xenos to boot, few paid much attention to his ever-growing fleet of ships or growing web of relations amongst the Exodites. Few except for one Eldrad Ulthruan.

Unbeknownst to most, Eldrad's seer council quietly cultivated a relationship with Yragael, lending advice and direction to the would-be Ultrarch. In return, Yragael's corsairs performed many desperate and delicate missions for the august farseer, culminating in the dedication of the entirety of Yragael's combat fleet to the Altansar incursion during Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade.

Yragael's ship fleet was crushed, hundreds of Eldar spending their lives in the pursuit of Maugan Ra's mission to retrieve his lost homeworld. In the end outsiders would view Yragael's brash commitment to the scheme a tragic and foolish waste of Eldar lives. It would be some time before word would spread of the Shard.

In return for Yragael's total commitment to the devices of Eldrad and Maugen Ra, he was told the location of a long-lost craftworld shard, an unfinished craftworld hanging in the depths of interstellar space, dead and cold. Built during the Fall, this shard was meant to be the backbone of a new craftworld, but it was lost and forgotten during the destruction of the Eldar empire. Only Maugan Ra, who could draw upon the vastly ancient memories of his myriad spirit stones, could recall the last known location of the shard, and only Eldrad could provide Yragael with a sufficiently large entourage of bonesingers to allow the construction of a new craftworld to begin. Yragael jumped at his chance to secure a place among the other craftworlds and so the deal was struck.

The Shard has been retrieved and the bonesingers have begun long years of building.Craftworld Urm (Craftword Fáil, to some) has begun to take shape.