Warhammer 40K: This Week’s Meta Hotness – Baharroth, The Cry Of The Wind
Let’s take a look at a unit that you shouldn’t cry over, Baharroth.
In the ever-shifting meta of 40K, armies rise and fall. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about armies that are hot or not, but a lot less time looking at units that are running the show. Today let’s start by taking a look at one of the hottest units currently running around the tabletop.
The Unit
Baharroth is a legendary figure among the Aeldari. The mystical Phoenix Lord of the Swooping Hawks is a being, or at least, armor older than the Imperium. On the battlefield, with or without his Aspect Warriors he is a fleet figure, delivering range fire and close in attacks.
Why Is Baharroth Good?
As a Phoenix Lord Baharroth has a solid starting stat line. Fly and a 14″ move mean he can easily get around. Favored of Khaine means they are limited in the wounds they can take each phase, making him more survivable than it would seem. Given that he has a 2+/4++ that was already kind of hard to kill. Overall it’s a solid stat line. In combat, he’s got a couple of nice weapons. At ranged he gets off 4 S6 AP -2 D2 shots, at BS 2+, which is great. In combat, he throws out 6 s5 Ap-3 D2 attacks with exploding 6s to hit.
The real icing on the cake is his rule Cloudstrider. This rule allows him to effectively teleport to anywhere on the table outside of 9″ of enemy models any time he would consolidate or make a battle focus move. Which is basically every turn. With this Baharroth can ping-pong around the table going wherever he wishes – whenever he wants. For a currently 140 pt model this is a a solid lineup. On his own Baharroth is strong enough to take on a squad of MEQ or lessor units. Making him great for hit and runs to pick off key enemy units or knock the enemy off objectives.
A Sample List
Saying a unit is hot is all well and good, but let’s take a look at how players are using it. Baharroth has been in a number of lists that have done well at recent tournaments. One list that uses him is the following run by Dan Sammons for a top place finish at the 2022 Freestate GT.
++ Ulthwe Vanguard Detachment -3CP ++
Baharroth
Eldrad Ulthran w/ Guide, Doom, Executioner, & Fate Reader
+ Elites +
Dire Avengers x7 w/ Defence Tactics, Exarch w/ Stand Firm, Two Avenger Shuriken Catapults
Howling Banshees x5 Exarch w/ Piercing Strikes, Shuriken Pistol & Banshee Blade
Striking Scorpions x5 Exarch w/ Biting Blade, Crushing Blows
Warlock Skyrunner x1 w/: Quicken/Restrain, Sunstorm, Seer of the Shifting Vector
Wraithlord Bright Lance, Ghostglaive, Scatter Laser, 2x Shuriken Catapult, Wraithbone Fist
Wraithlord Bright Lance, Ghostglaive, Scatter Laser, 2x Shuriken Catapult, Wraithbone Fists
+ Heavy Support +
Support Weapons x3 w/ Shadow Weaver
Support Weapons x2 w/ Shadow Weaver
+ Dedicated Transport +
Wave Serpent
++ Light Harlequins Patrol Detachment ++
+ HQ +
Shadowseer w/ Mirror of Minds, Webway Dance, Mirror Architect, Warlord w/ A Foot in the Future
+ Troops +
Troupe x5 w/ Shuriken Pistols, 3x Blades, Embrace & Kiss on the Lead Player
Troupe x5 W/ Shuriken Pistols and Blades
+ Heavy Support +
Voidweavers x3 w/ Prismatic Cannons
Voidweavers x1 w/ Prismatic Cannons
+ Dedicated Transport +
Starweaver w/ 2x Shuriken Cannon
Using Baharroth
Dan’s list is built around fast assault infantry moving in conjunction with a heavy core of Wraitlords and support weapons. While many units in the army are fast, Baharroth is the fastest. Five indirect fire support platforms work to soften up enemy hidden units and take down hordes. In this mix Baharroth functions more like another indirect fire weapon rather than a front line unit. Without any other Swooping Hawks around, he is not tied down by supporting friendly units. Instead, he can use his unmatched mobility to jump around the field hitting targets of opportunity and helping to win the objective game.
Let us know what units you think are hot right now, down in the comments!
