Reecius’ Fist Play Tests with Eldar
So, we’ve been able to cram some games with the new dex in and well….it’s been interesting to say the least!
Hey everyone, Reecius here from Frontline Gaming to share our first experiences and impressions with the new Eldar book. It is, as expected, hyper powered. But is it as bad as the interwebz tries to make it seem? Well, when we opened the book we did not implode and drop into an alternate pocket dimension, nor did we set on fire so it isn’t as bad as the net says. But, it is ultra powerful. I feel quite comfortable saying that this is the most powerful book 40k has ever seen, in any edition of the game.
First off, here’s a funny video to set the mood! Be sure to TURN CAPTIONS ON, or it won’t make sense, lol. This is pretty funny, and a good laugh.
Eldar First Thoughts
While many of the changes in the book are awesome such as the nerf to Wave Serpents, and (some, Warp Spiders…holy crap!) of the buffs to Aspect Warriors. The new Crimson Hunter is boss (and their formation is bananas and will dominate the skies in many games), and while criminally under-priced, the Wraithknight isn’t game breaking IMO, so long as you limit games to a single LoW. If you allow more than 1 of them, I think it could get pretty loopy, pretty fast.
The downsides though, are pretty gnarly. D weapons are the big attention grabber as they are so devastating. We know a majority of folks that participate in our events don’t really care for ranged D weapons in organized play but here we are with them all over the dex. So, we decided to try it out as it lays to see how bad it was or was not. The single shot weapons have been mildly impactful in our games so far, mostly because all of our games our Wraithknight can’t hit the broadside of a barn and the Wraithguard were deployed very badly in our first game with them and didn’t really get to shoot! The D-Scythe Wraihgguard with a WWP though, wow. They get you, POW!, right in the kisser! They kill damn near anything with very few to no variables to interfere with the plan. Just devastatingly brutal in our games so far and in my mind, will alter the meta. Anyone that relies on high value, single model units, will be wearing a bad sad face if they catch the D from this unit combo. I think it is reasonable to expect most communities to tone the ranged D weapons down a bit if they use them at all, in order to make the game more enjoyable for both players. If you do want to use D weapons uncensored, so to speak, just be sure that both players know what to expect from the game. You certainly don’t want to ambush anyone with it as they may have a really crummy game.
But the real kicker so far for me, has been them dang Scat Packs! (Eldar Jet Bikes with Scatter Lasers). Those are, IMO, the best unit in the game at present. The damage output, mobility, utility, and ObSec status are just bonkers. A 4-5 man unit is the sweet-spot, and has an incredibly disproportionate impact on the game vs. it’s incredibly low cost. This, IMO, really is problematic for game balance and needs to be looked at closely. A unit that costs less than 10 Space Marines that can put out nealry as much hurt as 2 Flyrants (which cost 3.5 times as much as a single unit of 5 Scat Bikes) is pretty clearly an issue. YMMV, of course, but so far in the half dozen games we’ve played they have been devastating, apart from 1 where 3 for 3 ran off the table, lol, but that is going to happen extremely rarely and Eldar have quite a few ways to grant Fearless or leadership buffs to mitigate this.
Lastly, the Seer Council went Captain Insano! Already an uber obnoxious unit, now it is better than it was. Holy smokes, Batman, that unit is devastating! They get powers off just about as reliably as with the old Leadership tests (harness on 3+), are crazy mobile, hit hard and have some incredible psychic powers. Really a powerhouse unit and one that will cause a lot of hurtness in the butt. Mine included!
Here’ Where I Put My Money Where My Mouth Is!
I thinks Eldar are too powerful, and am willing to put $250 of his own money on the table to back that up! You think I’m wrong and that you can take my money? Then pick up the gauntlet and prove it! =)
Here’s a fun challenge: come and beat me in a live game of 40k on our Twitch Channel at our studio in sunny San Diego, California and earn yourself $250, cash money! I think the new Eldar are brutal and am left sort of scratching my head about it, but, I want to be wrong! Can the Scat Packs and the Dirty D slangers be taken down? Are Apoc Blast, Fleshbane, AP3, Haywire psychic powers that are easy to cast a tad much? Seer Council getting a bad rap? Help me turn my Eldar frown, upside down!
We typically broadcast live games every Tuesday and Thursday night on out Twitch Channel, FrontlineGaming_TV, as well as our live show, Signals from the Frontline, on Mondays and Fridays. But, this Eldar-palooza warrants some serious attention! We’ll be live casting tonight, Wednesday starting at 7pm PST and may be able to squeeze in a double header as we have two challengers tonight, Jon Bunn–former Head TO for Feast of Blades, and James Carmona–#5 ranked in the ITC–and his Chaos army! We’ve also got multple GT winner, Douglas Johnson bringing his Censtar and Termiestar list to challenge later in the week, too!
The rules:
- You cannot also bring Eldar, lol!
- You can use up to 3 detachments, in anticipation of Wargames Con, coming up in June which we are administering and TO’ing for 40k.
- Follow ITC guidelines, but, you can use the unmodified Invisibility or 2+ reroll save if you want to.
So come on out, have a fun game with Eldar and see if you can punch me in the dingus and take my moolah! If you want to join in on the fun, tune in to Twitch and have fun with it! Caveat: we normally only play with painted models on our Live Stream, but, with this Eldar release, we didn’t have many of the new models so we have been using some unpainted models and occasional proxies. We have the missing models en route from GW, just need to get them assembled. Sorry for that, but not much we could do about it.
Also, be sure to catch our 25% off sale on the Assassinorium Execution Force game while it lasts!
