Make Them Know Fear: Killing Space Marines SeerK Style pt 3

Despite the codex creep occurring, the Eldar are still some of the best psykers in 40k. They do have attack powers, but their strength really lays in how they bolster the other units in the army. One of the major thorns in an Eldar players side is when they face up against a Space Marine army fielding Librarians. These Imperial psykers can throw a mon-keigh wrench in your well laid plans. So here is how to kill them with impunity.

One of the key things when dealing with librarians is containment. This can be an issue when they are equipped with the Gate of Infinity power. Of course Craftworld Eldar have a few options. The major one that many overlook is Runes of Warding. I see many tournament lists that leave off the Runes of Warding and I have never really known why. This can hamper a librarian quite a bit. In fact I remember a game where two Rune Priests were only able to really use a power every other turn and even just giving up after taking perils of the warp twice in one turn. Since Runes are a passive ability that cover the whole table it is the only defense the Eldar have Vs librarians. Granted Perils is not as scary when you have a storm shield. Granted only Codex Librarians can do that, broken as it is, but this means you have to deal with the librarian with just plain brute force. Perils still denies the use of the power though.

This is one Aspect of containment. Denying the librarian the ability to reliably use his powers every turn can really cause havoc in strategy. This is especially true when you are faced with the hellacious powers of the Blood Angels and Space Wolves. Eldar are graced with high initiative so powers like Jaws of the Werewolf are next to useless, except on the random roll of a 6. This is especially true of Dark Eldar. Since Wyches have a base initiative of 6 they rarely fail.

It will also help if you deploy in such a way to deny effective targets for line attacks. Keeping the Librarian occupied and pinned down is the next step in containment.  This was very important in my recent game against CSVinton and his Salamanders.   Keeping the Librarian in one spot allows you to travel the board and stay out of Psychic Hood range. This is why you should not attempt to use powers directly on the Librarian. Doom and Mind war have an effective range that is inside psychic hood range. Granted if you are facing a Daemon Hunter or Grey Knight army you are faced with Psychic Hoods that blanket the board. In this case you must hit the owner hard and fast with high strength weapons to get the instant kill.

Even if the Librarian is in Terminator armor you can kill it easily using the Terminator killing tips form our last segment.

Dark Eldar have a little harder time with Psykers. The Crucible of Malediction is only available to Haemonculi and is not a real reliable way to deal with Librarians. Remove from play weapons are effective though. As are Dark Light weapons. Hex rifles and the like will remove a model from play. This is also where a shattershard is effective as it allows no save. If you know for a fact Librarians are going to be an issue Lady Malys and a retinue of Incubi are a good way to effectively deal with and occupy a Librarian. As long as Lady Malys is in the unit you need not fear force weapons. Remember the instant killing ability of the Force Weapon is a special psychic power. Lady Malys herself is immune to all psychic powers as is the unit she joins. This make for a very effective anti psychic unit. Using single wound models also blunts its effectiveness. You also must always remember that Runes of Warding affects this roll as well.

Ultimately you must keep the Librarian from your core units and make sure you hamper his ability to use his powers effectively. This means deploying your force in such a way as to facilitate this. Keep your killer unit shielded and your psychic units on standby and out range of any hoods.

So my two cents about the Librarians of the Space Marines. They can be a bugger, but as long as you keep your cool and don't freak out about them they are an easy kill just like any other unit.

SO next time I will be talking about my new favorite unit. The Beast Master pack I added to “Lelith Fair” was very instrumental in my victory over Captain Obvious. I will talk about this unit next time.  I will also be posting a battle report against Dark Future Games CSVinton and his Salamanders.  Vulkan and his boys did not fair so well as Lelith continues her murderous rampage through the store  Also look for my first Podcast next week. “From The Webway” Premiers next week.

Until then..........................

Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!