Monday, February 28, 2011

Competitive Ulthwe revisited

Two years ago, I wrote a blog post on Ulthwe Eldar being competitive. It was written before the new Space Wolves, Blood Angels and just as the Imperial Guard codex was released. Looking back at the post, I see that some of my points aren't valid anymore, and the army wouldn't be able to beat the armies I am playing against today. So let's take another look at it!

Eldar Seers

Keeping in mind my rules for Ulthwe Army Lists:
  1. No Aspect Warriors
  2. No Wraiths
  3. Only Farseer as HQ
  4. At least one unit of Warlocks as the Seer Council
  5. Only Guardians or vehicles driven by Guardians
Currently, we are operating at 1750 points in my gaming circuit, so let's keep to that.

A Farseer is essential, as is his Seer Council. Mounting them on jetbikes gives them mobility to use their Destructors is key if you want the Seer Council to be your hammer. If you rather want it to be your anvil, they can be on foot. The Fortune psychic power is also a must, as this increases their survivability no end! Last, Runes of Warding is a no-brainer which you should always take in a take-all-comers army.
  • Farseer w/Jetbike, Fortune, Runes of Warding
  • 6 Warlocks w/Jetbikes, 3 Destructors, 2 Embolden, 1 Enhance
We will also need some Troops. I have had great success with a small unit of Guardians with a Bright Lance, deployed out of harms way. They aren't quite dangerous enough to warrant many troops going after them, but can wreak havoc in the enemy's armour line. They get Embolden, so they won't run away after losing a few models.
  • 10 Guardians w/Bright Lance, Warlock w/Embolden
  • 10 Guardians w/Bright Lance, Warlock w/Embolden
Next, we need some mobile anti-tank. The Seer Council can take most hordes straight on, but will struggle aganst Land Raiders and the like. Ideally, this would be 5 Fire Dragons in a Wave Serpent, but because we don't like Aspect Warriors we can't take them.
  • 10 Storm Guardians w/2 Fusion Guns, Warlock w/Singing Spear in Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannons and Spirit Stones
  • 10 Storm Guardians w/2 Fusion Guns, Warlock w/Singing Spear in Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannons and Spirit Stones
We now have a lot of Troops. Let's take even more!
  • 6 Jetbikes w/2 Shuriken Cannons, Warlock w/Destructor
  • 6 Jetbikes w/2 Shuriken Cannons, Warlock w/Destructor
Finally, let's take some heavy support for all our Troops.
  • Fire Prism w/Spirit Stones
  • Fire Prism w/Spirit Stones
Total points cost is 1749, and we end up with a list that can be really annoying! It isn't easy to catch the Eldar on the move, and the slow elements in this list isn't really that important for the enemy to take out! You have quite a lot of firepower, high mobility, a Seer Council that can both take and dish out a lot of damage and a lot of Troops to take those vital objectives. In a pinch, you have 4 Fast Tanks that can crash enemy-held objectives and contest for that turn 5 win.

It should be noted that this list is highly inspired by my buddy Knut's Eldar list. Even though he runs Fire Dragons, an Autarch and no normal Guardians, the feel of this army is still pretty much the same.