Warhammer 40K Meta Hotness – December 2023: Aeldari Fire Dragons

6 Minute Read

Dec 14 2023

Let’s dive into the craftworld temples of the Aeldari again and talk about Fire Dragons Aspect Warriors – this week’s 40K Meta Hotness.

I don’t know about you – but the Aeldari Index is pretty deep. It is one of those codexes that is so large, if you push some of their models with points in one direction, it opens up a whole slew of other stuff on the other side. Today I want to talk about the Fire Dragons and how they can easily replace the ole Wraithguard as an extremely deadly force to deal with the upcoming metal boxes meta we are living in.

I don’t understand why this unit hasn’t been made plastic yet. They feel like one of those simple units like Dark Reapers that can have a very simple update. You don’t need to redesign much beyond some small tweaks to get them in line with the new design of Aeldari. It just feels like a no-brainer, and between you and me – there has to be a unit made especially for a Killteam update in the future. But enough on that, why are Fire Dragons good?

Vehicles are Back, and Fire Dragons Love to Hate Them

First their ability allows them to reroll a wound roll of one and a damage roll of 1 when targeting a Monster or Vehicle. That is pretty powerful as Fire Dragons already get a reroll on top of to-hit making them more powerful. Do you accidentally roll two 1’s and a 2 to hit with your unit? Well, you get to reroll all 3 of those because of their built-in hate for things bigger than they are. The reroll of 1 for damage is another just chef’s kiss of death too.

Fire Dragons Have Powerful Shooting

With the shift of Devastating Wounds to not be nearly as deadly as they were before, the Melta shots from Fire Dragons are nothing to sneeze at. Having a flat Melta 3 means coming out of their Falcons can give them a whole slew of damage potential as well as those guns having Assault. They jump out, advance, and all of a sudden you are getting within range of taking 5d6+15 damage coming at whatever the Fire Dragons want to murder.

Fire Dragons Love to Ride in Vehicles

Remember that vehicles are powerful right now. So the fact Fire Dragons love to ride in Falcons means they are built with a ride that is also designed to let them Deep Strike, have powerful shooting too, and provide a tough body to dig through. We know how powerful Rhinos are, and the Falcon is a “better” flying Rhino that carries murder hobos inside. It is a powerful setup to have with a ton of other vehicle bodies on the tabletop.

Fuegan is a BOSS Too!

Their Phoenix Lord is pretty awesome, too, with the ability to get back up, can punch in combat, and shoot the crap out of you. It also chains in some rerolls too for the Fire Dragon unit he joins. The ultimate pain in the butt with a Melta 6 Lance, flat damage 3 close combat weapon, and Feel No Pain 5+ for a very low price of just finding a model of this guy for your army. Or 115 points if you want to know the actual cost.

A Sample Tournament List

Warzone Atlanta was won by this Aeldari army and you can watch it on Wargames Live stream if you want to see how it works. Z Martin took the win, and I am sad I couldn’t make the event this year. It was a lot of fun last year, and time just didn’t work out for me. Anyway good job on the win with a much different Aeldari list than we normally see.

Z-dar (1995 Points)Aeldari
Battle Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Autarch (75 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Dragon fusion gun
1x Mandiblasters
1x Star glaiveFarseer Skyrunner (90 Points)
• 1x Eldritch Storm
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Twin shuriken catapult
1x Witchblade

Fuegan (115 Points)
• 1x Searsong
1x The Fire AxeKarandras (100 Points)
• 1x Arhra’s Bane
1x Isirmathil
1x The Scorpion’s Bite

Solitaire (115 Points)
• 1x Solitaire weapons

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BATTLELINE

Storm Guardians (115 Points)
• 10x Storm Guardian
• 2x Aeldari flamer
2x Aeldari power sword
8x Guardian combat weapon
2x Guardian fusion gun
6x Shuriken pistol
• 1x Serpent’s Scale Platform
• 1x Guardian combat weapon
1x Serpent shield

OTHER DATASHEETS

Falcon (140 Points)
• 1x Bright lance
1x Pulse laser
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Fire Dragons (85 Points)
• 1x Fire Dragon Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Firepike
• 4x Fire Dragon
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Dragon fusion gun

Rangers (55 Points)
• 5x Ranger
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Ranger long rifle
5x Shuriken pistol

Striking Scorpions (75 Points)
• 1x Striking Scorpion Exarch
• 1x Biting blade
1x Mandiblasters
• 4x Striking Scorpion
• 4x Mandiblasters
4x Scorpion chainsword
4x Shuriken pistol

Support Weapons (125 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x D-cannon
1x Shuriken catapult

Swooping Hawks (75 Points)
• 1x Swooping Hawk Exarch
• 1x Aeldari power sword
1x Close combat weapon
1x Hawk’s talon
• 4x Swooping Hawk
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Lasblaster

2000 pts

Fire Dragon Tactics

As you can see, this army would love to see more Plastic Aspect Warriors show up and let those old metal models retire in peace. I expect we will see more testing with Aeldari as having more “options” to win the game will help you out as the other aspects of the army get price increases. You have to start to look at the old stuff to figure out if it is worth it to bring the Space Elves to battle.

Happy Burninating!

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Author: Thomas / Goatboy

Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I've been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on - or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.

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