I finished painting all of the models for the 500-point eldar army list I started with when I decided to get back into Warhammer 40k, and so far have played two quick test games against my old space marines and dark eldar.
Eldar vs. Space Marines
The first battle I played was against 500 points of my Iron Wardens space marines:
HQ
- Captain w/ plasma pistol – 115 pts
Troops
- Tactical Squad: 10 marines w/ flamer, lascannon– 180 pts
- Tactical Squad: 6 marines – 106 pts
- Rhino w/ hunter-killer missile – 45 pts
Fast Attack
- Land Speeder – 50 pts
This battle went very poorly for the eldar. The first problem was being outranged by the marines. The lascannon’s 48 inch range was enough to allow one combat squad to sit on an objective and pick off guardians while still being out of range of the scatter laser. Then to make matters worse, the land speeder’s heavy bolter was deadly against the dire avengers without any chance for them to close and counter-attack. Even normal bolters offered a 6-12 inch range advantage on the eldar shuriken catapults. The second problem was that I had the striking scorpions attempt to outflank and they ended up on the wrong side of the board. That really reduced their impact on the battle making the unit a waste of points.
Eldar vs. Dark Eldar
The next test battle I played was against 500 points of my dark eldar:
HQ
- Archon w/ agoniser, shadowfield, ghostplate armor – 120 pts
Troops
- Kabalite Warriors: 15 warriors w/ 1 splinter cannon; sybarite w/ splinter pistol and venom blade – 169 pts
- Wyches: 4 wyches w/ haywire grenades and 1 sharnet and impaler; hekatrix w/ power weapon – 90 pts
Fast Attack
- Reavers: 3 reavers; arena champion w/ blaster – 113 pts
The eldar army was better suited to fighting the dark eldar than it was to the space marines, and this battle ended up being a narrow victory over the evil raiders. The fast reaver jetbikes were able to decimate the guardian squad, but the autarch’s presence allowed the survivors to hold their ground and eventually finish off the smaller squad. Meanwhile, the eldar dire avengers used bladestorm to cut the wych squad in half before being decimated by them and the archon in close combat. Finally, the striking scorpions arrived on the right side of the battlefield this time and were able to take on the kabalite warriors. In the end though, the game came down to the wyches failing a morale save after losing one of their number to a blast from the autarch’s fusion gun.
Plan for 1000 Points
I’ve already picked up some more models and have planned out what my army will look like at its next milestone of 1000 points. The main focus of the additions are mobility and heavy weapons. First, I’m switching the guardian squad’s scatter laser for an eldar missile launcher to extend their range. Then I’ll add a vyper jetbike and a war walker to add some mobile heavy weapon platforms. A wave serpent comes with more firepower and the ability to get my dire avenger squad into range more safely. Finally, a farseer and warlocks add psychic powers that can boost the effectiveness of my other units while also being another powerful squad, particularly against vehicles.
HQ
- Autarch w/ fusion gun, scorpion chainsword, mandiblaster – 95 pts
- Farseer w/ doom, guide, spirit stones – 120 pts
- Warlocks: 1 warlock w/ singing spear and embolden; 1 warlock w/ destructor; 1 warlock w/ enhance – 108 pts
Elites
- Striking Scorpions: 5 striking scorpions; 1 exarch w/ scorpion’s claw, shadowstrike, stalker – 148 pts
Troops
- Dire Avengers: 9 dire avengers; 1 exarch w/ dual catapult, bladestorm – 152 pts
- Wave Serpent w/ twin-linked eldar missile launcher, shuriken cannon – 130 pts
- Guardians: 10 guardians w/ eldar missile launcher – 100 pts
Fast Attack
- Vyper Jetbike w/ starcannon – 70 pts
Heavy Support
- War Walker w/ bright lance, scatter laser – 75 pts
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