# Competitive Eldar Lists



## dthwish09 (Oct 15, 2009)

I have done alot of reading as to how eldar can be competitive and I have made several attempts as to building a very competitive eldar list but to this day I have yet to win a game and basicly my question is this

what are renouned competitive eldar lists
what are the best combos amongst the eldar units
how should I write my list and have it played?

Thank you for your time and responces.


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## Cyklown (Feb 8, 2010)

It's Mechar and Jetseer, really.

Mechdar puts everything in a vehicle. It runs around taking potshots. See my sig for playstyle comments.

Jetseer is a bit different. It combines the beauty that is Jetbike mounted warlocks with the brilleance that is fortune for rerollable 3+ and 4++ saves. You wound anything on a 2+, you've got a good WS and I (after enhance), your farseers get their powers off more due to embolden and you pack a lot of heavy flamers. It's a real "death star" of a unit.

Either way, Eldrad is likely the best HQ option in the book. Fire Dragons are the best elites option. Minimum-sized DA squads in Wave Serpents are (arguably) the best option for troops, fast attack is filled with Jank and Fire Prisms (always in at least pairs) , Falcons and Warwalkers are all solid HS choices.


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Cyklown said:


> Mechdar puts everything in a vehicle. It runs around taking potshots. See my sig for playstyle comments.


:laugh:



Cyklown said:


> Either way, Eldrad is likely the best HQ option in the book.


Yes



Cyklown said:


> Fire Dragons are the best elites option


But if you want a combat unit (and you don't really need 3 units of Fire Dragons) then Banshees and Scorpions are the best bet, units of 10 or don't bother. You can get away with units of 6 Dragons in a Falcon though.



Cyklown said:


> Minimum-sized DA squads in Wave Serpents are (arguably) the best option for troops


I strongly disagree with minimum unit sizes unless you're putting them in a Falcon. 10 Men strong with Bladestorm adds SIGNIFICANTLY to your ability to remove threats, especially with Eldrad/Farseer nearby with Doom/Guide. My troops choices are my primary anti-infantry device.



Cyklown said:


> fast attack is filled with Jank


Correct (for people who don't play Magic, "Jank" means "Crap")



Cyklown said:


> Fire Prisms (always in at least pairs) , Falcons and Warwalkers are all solid HS choices.


Agreed. My favourite setup is 2x Prisms and 1x Falcon unless I'm doing a dedicated War Walker list, which uses an Autarch to let them outflank on 3+ on turn 2.

Here's my competitive list at 1500pts:

*HQ*
Farseer with Spirit Stones, Doom, Guide, Singing Spear and RoW
133 pts

Eldrad
210 pts

*Elites*
6 Fire Dragons
96 pts

*Troops*
10 Dire Avengers with Exarch with 2 Shuriken Catapults and Bladestorm
152 pts

Wave Serpent with Spirit Stones Twin Linked Bright Lance
145 pts

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch with 2 Shuriken Catapults and Bladestorm
152 pts

Wave Serpent with Spirit Stones Twin Linked Bright Lance
145 pts

*Heavy Support*
Falcon with Bright Lance, Holo-fields, Spirit Stones
190 pts

Fire Prism with Holofields and Cannon
160 pts 

Fire Prism
115 pts

*1498pts*

Considering that this army only has 6-7 shots during turns 1-2, you need to pick your targets carefully, and make them count. Take your time, ask your opponent exactly what is in his army, and establish what the biggest threat is, taking into consideration the following:

1. Your biggest advantage is your speed, what does he have that can either keep up with you, or blow up your rides? 10 man jump pack squads with melta guns? Hammerheads? Hydra flak tanks? They all pose a big threat to your vehicles, and need to be taken out ASAP.

2. You're going to have to get out of your vehicles at some point, 6-7 shots per turn for the entire game doesn't cut it. What does the enemy have that will ruin your infantry's day? Large Blast weapons? Weapons that ignore cover? Heavy bolters? It should be fairly obvious not to get out if there's a Heavy Flamer in range... Whirlwinds, Dakka Predators and flame-type weapons are all serious threats to your fragile infantry.

3. Once you've removed the above threats, all that should be left is the mop up. That squad of TH/SS termies that have been walking ever since you popped their Land Raider on turn 1? Feel free to drive over, hit them with 2 prism shots, and empty a couple of bladestorms into them. *Remember, only do what you have to in order to win the game.* If it's a kill points mission, winning by 1 point is as good as winning with 5. Objectives wise, it's just as much of a victory to win by contesting everything and holding 1, as opposed to trying to hold 2 but contesting nothing.

Above all else, avoid anything that looks like an equal fight. It's not how the Eldar work. You find one vulnerable unit and you pound it into the floor with massive firepower. You try walking forwards into a line of Leman Russ and you'll get your pretty little elfen ass handed to you. Use cover, and don't be afraid to turbo-boost if something is even remotely within assaulting/melta distance of your tanks.


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## Arkanor (Jan 1, 2010)

Your ability to win is going to come down more to how well you marshal your forces and less how you build your list. That said, bringing a suboptimal list will cripple you. Sethis and Cyklown know what they're on about and have already said pretty much everything that needs to be said. I run a similar Mechdar list but around here 2000pt games are common, so I toss the Avatar in there as kind of a scare unit, he hasn't failed to disappoint.


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## Cyklown (Feb 8, 2010)

Well, I'd say that you avoid taking a third fire dragons unit because you decided that a CC specialist is absolutely neccesary and you don't have the points to take a jet council and still run 3 units of fire dragons. No, really. You drop the points on 45-points per raw dude units and all of a sudden you find yourself desperately needing to cut 206 points.

If you ever are fielding more fire dragons than may be neccesary then they also start costing more. Any time fire dragons become a focus then droping the extra points for a 7th dude that makes exarch and buys the flamer is needed for flexibility.

Also, everyone should have played magic at some point. It reminds you of where the heinous mistakes the GW makes, where it gets things right and gives you the right viewpoint. Sadly, the rule in magic abou 90%+ (well, maybe more like 50%) of every booster being limited trash is true for 40k, where you can take whatever you want.


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

People still buy boosters? I stopped just before the price rose to like £3 per (sometime after Lorwyn). Singles off the internet ftw. I do admit that I often wish that GW would take a leaf out of MTGs book with regards to rule writing though.

/offtopic


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## dthwish09 (Oct 15, 2009)

I used to play MTG back in the day, still have some decks

but thanks alot for the information everyone, I learned some very helpfull howto's. The basic loadout of the list I have tossed together and should play a game with this week is 1750 pts and contains

doom, guide, seerx2
20 Dire avengers, BS exarch
10 Storm guardians, flamers, destructor lock
8 dragons
4 wave serpents, SLx3, SCx1, underslung cannonx4, stonesx4
3 Fireprisms, stonesx3, underslung cannonx3

I have noticed that this list lacks any CC specialist, noticeing that I made changes to the loadouts so that this list is geared to be a fully mechanized-shooty list, that I plan to fly around and weaken units with then send out the Davengers/ Sguardians to clean up.


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Looks solid, but could you cut something to turn a Farseer into Eldrad? His redeployment is invaluable, as is his ability to guide 2 things and fortune something else.

Don't worry about combat, after receiving a properly executed bladestorm AND 3 flamer templates, there shouldn't be an infantry squad in the game with more than 1 or 2 models left, and your 30+ attacks with the Guardians should be fine to take care of that.

I'm very concerned that none of your Prisms have holofields. I personally wouldn't ever field a Falcon or Prism without one, unless it was a 500pt game. Consider dropping Chin cannons and/or Spirit stones from them in order to buy 'fields for at least one or two of them.


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