Neutering Ynarri – & Reviving the Other 3 Eldar Codexes
The Ynarri are overpowered – and destabilizing the entire Eldar faction. Here’s how to bring them to heel.
The Problem
Ynnari are a really cool idea. The awakening of a new god is the biggest shakeup to Eldar society in 10,000 years and should have equally tectonic effects on the tabletop.
When they arrived in this year’s Fracturing of Biel-Tan (can you believe it has only been 8 months!) folks were freaking out by the possibilities of the unified Eldar armylist. Of course once 8th Edition hit, Index Xenos I gave the Ynnari a clear upper hand over their Craftworld, Druchari and Harlequin brothers and sisters.
In the intervening months nothing has changed and if you hear competitive players talking Eldar at all – it’s Ynnari. The faction is clearly overpowered and it does so at the direct expense of the other Eldar factions.
The Rules
Next let’s go over the Ynarri rules and see exactly why everyone out there is ignoring the subfaction Eldar codexes and only see them as units to be poached for Ynnari army lists:
There are three basic rules that place Ynnari head and shoulders above their brethren:
Army of the Reborn
The limitations to what Ynnari CANNOT take are tiny – and not enough of a burden to make anyone think twice before jumping on the bandwagon. Losing the Avatar, and a handful of Dark Eldar isn’t going to dissuade anyone. All the good stuff is still in there.
Strength From Death
Here is the beating heart of the army – a deep reservoir of Undead Eldar Acts of Faith that would make an Adepta Sororitas blush. It’s GOING to get kicked off many many times a game and is easy to use situationally to clear the path to your victory. Comparing Strength From Death to the Craftworld Special rules or Battle Focus is no contest.
Revenant Discipline
Nothing too crazy – except for the ability to fire off EVEN MORE Soulburst actions!
A Solution
My solution as always wants to be clean, concise and fitting the fluff. It will be a quick minute alteration of the existing rules with the design goals of pulling the Ynnari faction into an equal 4th Eldar faction, while restoring the other three (Craftworld, Drukhari, Harlequins) to being unique playstyles.
Here is my two part solution and my rationale:
Army of the Reborn:
We need to see the overall list of poachable units from the other factions reduced both to give Ynnari less room to maneuver – but MORE IMPORTANTLY to keep the other factions distinctive. My rationale is to have the most conservative, traditional and doctrine based segments of Eldar society turn back to tradition and let the upstart Ynnari carry on their quest on their own. Above all that means the isolated and ancient Aspect Warriors and their Incubi counterparts. These are highly rigid, almost monastic elements of Eldar society and not likely to follow the whims of the moment. Let the inscrutable Harlequins, Kabalites, and Guardians follow their hearts – the professionals will be back home tending the hearth.
I propose updating Army of the Reborn as follows:
“With the Exception of <HAEMONCULUS COVEN>, <ASPECT WARRIOR> units Urien Rakarth, Drazar, Incubi, Mandrakes, Avatar of Khaine, any Aeldari unit can be part of an Ynnari army…”
Strength from Death:
The rule itself is great. In fact the entire thing is fairly close to the Adeptus Ministorum Acts of Faith system. The problem is that the Ynnari player gets to use it all the time during a game. The Sisters Army soldiers on just fine with 1 Act of Faith a turn, plus others from special characters or rare units. I propose an identical solution – limiting it to once a turn by default.
I propose updating Strength from Death as follows:
“Once per turn, when a unit is destroyed within 7″ of one of more units with this ability…”
This accomplished two goals:
- It lowers the power level of the army while keeping its playstyle distinct.
- It makes the use of Ynnari psykers more critical as they can fire off more soulburst actions via Word of the Phoenix.
Revenant Discipline:
With the limitation of Strength From Death, we need to get some potent psykers access to the Revenant discipline: I would give the following units optional access to the Revenant Discipline: (you pick before the battle if they use their original or Revenant Discipline)
- Farseer
- Farseer Skyrunner
- Shadowseer
I think it’s quick, clean and gets the job done.
~What’s your take?
