The Eagle has Landed: 6th Edition And The Eldar

Well 6^th has landed. I have the rulebook and I am pouring over it. I like the changes. Its like what 5^th edition should have been. 6^th in my mind is basically Wahammer 40K 5.5. It has additions and tweaks that really add depth to the game and clears up a bunch of stuff that has been argued on the net for years. Granted I know we will have new arguments now, but at least we are off to a decent start.

The Eldar are making some gains, which is good as the Craftworld Codex is now officially 2 additions old. The Psychic powers are really cool and boosting, as is how they work. Granted the new powers work like fantasy battle and are random with the only assured power being the primaris power. Eldar have access to Divination and Telepathy. There are a lot of good powers in both disciplines but you cant really count on getting a particular power. Also, unless a FAQ changes it, Eldar do not have the Brotherhood of Psykers and only Farseers can swap out powers.

Dark Eldar are going to see some major tactic changes. Rapid fire weapons now are not affected by moving so you can shoot up to the weapons range once and 2 shots at half range. You can also now fire heavy weapons on the move, granted at BS 1. SO now your Kabalite warrior squads can move and shoot and not be within charge distance.

Fast Vehicles also are working differently. You can't disembark if you have moved farther than 6 inches. Granted you move 6 inches out from the vehicle. You cannot assault though unless the vehicle is an assault vehicle. So the Dark Eldar can still jump out and wreck some havoc and actually can do it at a farther distance potentially.

Eldar Jet Bikes get a boost as they can move 2d6 in the assault phase. They can also move an additional 24 inches when they turbo boost so this makes them even better for grabbing objectives late in the game. Reaver bikes can really take advantage of their blade veins now as well. You can get into a good position for a strafing run. You also have a 5+ save just for moving and a 4+ for turbo boosting. Granted the turbo boost save is not as good but I will take the 5+ for moving normally.

What I really like is that now Eldar and Dark Eldar can work together in one army and with the exception of transports can benefit form each others powers and rules. They are brothers in arms. The Tau are also brothers in arms. This lends to the theory that the Eldar created the Tau. It also means lots of shenanigans involving allied detachments.

The Craftworlders took a hit though. Witchblades are no longer strength 9 against vehicles. You still wound on a 2+ but now you use your base strength and get 2d6 for armor penetration. The average for penetration now goes from 12 to 10. Granted hitting rear armor and the way hull point work this evens out a bit as you can now very easily wreck a vehicle by glancing it to death. Once again we are denied the weapons being powered as they have no AP value.

Night Fight has changed, but Night Vision has gotten pretty good for the Dark Kin. They now ignore night fight completely and can shoot normally. Solar pulse is now is not as effective and completely useless versus the Dark Eldar.

FNP is now different as well. It is a 5+, but only doubling a models toughness cancels it. This is easy against Eldar, but not enmasse. This adds a little more survivability to Dark Eldar units with 2 pain tokens.

One of my favorite 6^th edition changes is sniper weapons. Through a series of rules combinations Eldar Pathfinders are now even better. They have the awesome cover save and they have the AP 1 on a 5 or 6, but now when you roll a 6 you can allocate the wound. All of a sudden we have a whole unit of baby Vindicare assassins.

Wound allocation is very different. Wounds are dealt from the models closest to the firing unit back. Wounds are assigned based on armor saves. You also have an added rule known as “look out sir!” which allows another trooper in the unit to dive in front of a shot meant for the character in the unit. This happens on a roll of 4+. Now there was some debate about how things work and at first glance it is much more simple than the old way of allocating wounds. For the most part it is, but from what we can see units with mixed armor types are going to have a big advantage and there may be some abuse.

Challenges in close combat have migrated their way over to 40K as well. This looks to be something the Eldar can really take advantage of. This is because of improved psychic power support and the fact Exarchs do have better stat lines than the standard aspect warrior. They also have some very nice weaponry. Dire Avenger Exarchs outfitted for close combat can now really take advantage of their close combat weapons, 3+ save and getting hit with Fortune. Phoenix Lords joined to their Aspect units are going to be major targets for Challenges or may be avoided like the plague. Given the fact they can also be made your Warlord, the abilities that they may get form that is going to really boost your Aspects.

The game is pretty different. I am still trying to process everything. I am looking forward to the FAQs that I am sure are in the pipe for the codexes and the main rulebook. Now I slumber for tomorrow I take the Warhost out for a spin and bring the Dark Kin back into the fold.

Until next time..........

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