Warhammer 40K: This Week’s Meta Hotness – Aeldari War Walkers
The good ole Aeldari War Walker is making a comeback on the back of Hail of Doom shenanigans. If you mix a fast platform with a ton of bullets you get meta hotness!
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.
War Walker Basics.
You have a very cheap multi bullet platform at 65 points each. It shoots out 6 high quality shots that can quickly escalate into some large amount of damage. Each of those bullets could hit at 2 damage each! On top of hitting AP -4 or “-5” if you take the Masterful Shots Craftworld Trait. These guys also are sitting in the Heavy slot which means they won’t take up any precious space that could be filled by Dire Avengers or other bullet brothers and sisters. Really this is just a very cheap platform that can quickly move out from behind a wall or something else and throw out some fire power as needed. It also has Advance Positioning which means it can get a free move as needed.
Why are War Walkers Good?
They are a heavy choice which doesn’t fight with some of the other Aeldari options that love Hail of doom like Bikes, Vypers, and other damage dealers. They can move quickly to get around the table top and start throwing out damage. They are fairly cheap for with a decent Toughness to Wound ratio that makes them difficult to remove with simple firepower. They also have an invulnerable save and can be kitted out other ways to help your army.
Sample List
Daniel Wolmuth won the Warhammer Retreat 2022 with this Eldar hail of doom beatdown machine versus another Hail of Doom Eldar list. It feels a lot of these types of match ups are going to be really dependent on who “tries to do damage” first and then who succeeds in surviving or countering punching into that. It again shows a custom Craftworld build dominating all the others as Hail of Doom is extremely powerful. It helped catapult Aeldari into the winners bracket just based on sheer damage potential with an array of Shruiken bullets. War Walkers help out a ton here just being able to throw out some damage.
Hail of Doom Eldar
Outrider Detachment -3CP (Asuryani) [73pl, 1294pts]
Craftworld: Lantea (Custom: Hail of Doom, Children of Prophecy)
+HQ+
Jain Zar [7pl, 140pts]
Baharroth [7pl, 140pts]
+ELITES+
Howling Banshees [5pl, 105pts] x5, Mirrorswords, Piercing Strikes
Dire Avengers [6pl, 72pts] x6, Avenger Shuriken Catapult x7
+FAST ATTACK+
Swooping Hawks [8pl, 162pts] x9, Lasblaster x9, Relic(-1CP): Phoenix Plume
Shining Spears [6pl, 120pts] x3, Shuriken Cannon, Paragon Saber, Heartstrike, Relic: Khaines Lance
Windriders [4pl, 70pts] x3, Twin Shuriken Catapult x2, Shuriken Cannon x1
Warp Spiders [6pl, 125pts] x5, Deathspinners x4, Two Deathspinners & Power Blades, Web of Deceit
Vyper [3pl, 45pts] x1, Shuriken Cannon
Vyper [3pl, 45pts] x1, Shuriken Cannon
+HEAVY SUPPORT+
War Walker [5pl, 65pts] x1, Shuriken Cannon x2
War Walker [5pl, 65pts] x1, Shuriken Cannon x2
+DEDICATED TRANSPORT+
Wave Serpent [8pl, 140pts] Twin Shuriken Catapult, Twin Shuriken Cannon
Patrol Detachment 0CP (Asuryani) [35pl, 705pts]
Craftworld: Lantea (Custom: Hail of Doom, Children of Prophecy)
+No Force Org+
Warlock Skyrunner [3pl, 60pts]: Protect/Jinx
+HQ+
Farseer [5pl, 90pts]: Guide, Will of Asuryan, Warlord:Seer of the Shifting Vector,
Farseer Skyrunner [6pl, 120pts]: Doom, Ghostwalk, WLT(-1CP): Mark of the Incomparable Hunter, Relic:Kurnous Bow
+TROOPS+
Rangers [4pl, 70pts] x5, Wireweave Net
+ELITES+
Striking Scorpions [5pl, 105pts] x5, Biting Blade, Crushing Blows
Dire Avengers [6pl, 130pts] x10, Avenger Shuriken Catapult x11, Stand Firm
+HEAVY SUPPORT+
Support Weapons [6pl, 130pts] x2, D-Cannon x2
1999pts, 7CP
Using War Walkers
Most likely these guys are going to just get hurt if Hail of Doom is addressed at a future time by GW balancing acts. I don’t think the unit is bad as you can easily shift to other options like Scatter Lasers and other damage potential things if needed. The big thing with these models they are still fairly cheap. They are somewhat tough for an army full of low toughness models, and can quickly get around the table to throw out much needed damage. It’s always interesting to see the units that ebb and flow with new Aeldari releases. The sheer damage potential of massed Shruikens is a legit powerhouse! Even though a lot of players are worried about getting eaten instead of shredded these days.
PEW PEW PEW!!!
Let us know what units you think are hot right now, down in the comments!
