Well I have gotten one game in so far
with the new codex. I know, I know....one game. Its been rough
since
So I got to try out the Wraithknight.
I should really say though that I got to put the Wraithknight on the
table and watch it get lit up, literally, and then blasted by every
piece of kroot sniper gear and heavy ordnance the Tau could throw at
it. I will have to say it did take the whole army unloading for one
shooting phase to take out the big guy. With that toughness and that
many wounds with a Suncannon I can't blame them. In the next few
games I am going to reserve the big guy if I am forced to go second.
Holding him back or even deep striking him into the rear of the enemy
seems prudent. I know I would be kind of panicked if a T 8, STR 10,
6 wound beasty with 3 plasma templates to place dropped into my
backyard. I guess I am going to have to play it a lot as I am still
convinced that the Suncannon / scatter shield configuration is the
best one. Also going to deep strike if I have to go second. The
unit is just to expensive to loose right off the bat. You almost
want to play it very reserved and protected, but it seems to me you
cant do that and have it be effective. Picking your targets is going
to be very very important with the Wraithknight if you want to earn
his points back in a game.
There are three things that really
stuck out though. I also noticed the same three things while
watching Spellduckwrong play tonight at the shop. By stuck out, I
mean that they really are literal game changers . They affect how
you play and are things that really enhance the armies effectiveness
in my opinion. Those three things being, battle focus, pseudo
rending weapons and ballistic skill 4. Yes there are many changes
and unit buffs that also add, but I really think these three are the
big ones.
I like battle focus. Shooting and
running or running then shooting amps up the armies mobility, which
was really lacking when compared to the Dark Kins new book. Foot
armies are so much more viable now in terms of moving your forces and
getting them into optimal position for taking objectives and
destroying units. I had a unit of Dire Avengers tear up Tau in a
close range fire fight thanks to the ability. I could move out into
the open while in a building, shoot and then run down back out of
line of sight. Two units of Fire Warriors and a Crisis Team had to
be dedicated to rooting out my unit. My Warp Spiders also were
moving like crazy harassing units in the back field. I plan on much
experimenting with Battle focus. Its trixie.
Having an army that is entirely BS 4 is
very nice. Upping the Guardians is especially nice. I once again
have my Black Guardians. Its worth it taking Wave Serpents geared
for Tank Hunting. In fact points wise, as I pointed out last time,
its cheaper. Heavy spots are at a premium so being able to take
Serpents and leave the heavy spots open for long range artillery is
very handy. BS 4 is also pretty deadly when you combine it with the
changes to the weaponry. Better weapons are now hitting more often
and getting their special abilities to actually matter.
Special abilities like the Pseudo
rending of shuriken weaponry. Its pretty nice with Dire Avengers,
but really comes into its own with Guardians. Be it Storm Guardians,
Guardian Defenders, Jet bikes or even the crews of the Vauls Wrath
Batteries. I run Guardians in bricks of 15 to 20. 30 to 40
basically rending shots at BS 4 is pretty scary. The really scary
thing about the whole thing though is that when you actually think
about it, the basic sidearm of the Eldar army is rending. Everybody
and their brother has a shuriken pistol. Our dedicated assault units
have a 1-2 punch again. Striking scorpions have the 3 stage assault
now. Shoot, Mandiblast them and then the main assault. Power
armored units and their equivalents have to think hard about
assaulting and getting into close range with Eldar infantry units
now.
So far I am loving the codex. Sadly I
have been moving once again and working. I have a 40 minute commute
now and I have not been able to get in the games I want to. I am
hoping this will change soon though and I can full explore all the
thoughts and Ideas I have been having. I have a list ready to roll.
I call it “fun with monfiliment”. More on that next time.
Until then....
Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes,
War Calls!!!!!!
The BS4 is huge. Eldar have always had a pretty good amount of shots. I used to call it "withering fire" because you were just dumping as many garbage wounds into the enemy as you could and made them roll dice. Now however, the rate of fire stayed the same, but more are naturally hitting, and a sixth of the wounds are ignoring armor. That is huge. The fact that a Guardian blob can walk up to a badass monstrous creature or a Terminators squad and just cut the to ribbons is amazing. The Eldar have teeth again,
ReplyDeleteI got my first game in this evening as well and picked up on the same three things. Battle focus is amazing and gives a lot of tactical flexibility. It almost felt like cheating, as I was easily able to close the distance and make the most of my otherwise short range weapons. If I wasn't doing that then I was able to enter an open area, shoot my target, then duck back in cover and avoid harm. It's a real cool ability.
ReplyDeleteBallistic skill 4 took some getting used to. I kept wanting to pick up those threes.
I got used to BS4 pretty fast. What I can never remember, however, is that Guardians and Dire Avengers have grenades again. I have yet to remember to throw one.
DeleteI got use to the BS 4 playing Dark Eldar for a bit so it felt like that, but with a better quality of shooting. I found the splinter weapons pretty lackluster against targets that were T3
DeleteCompletely agree about the Battle Focus. Warp Spiders are ridiculous while using it. First turn side or rear armour is deadly vs vehicles.
ReplyDeleteAnd the best part is, they're so fast that once they get in there it's hard to keep them out of your rear and side armor.
DeleteCough spelled my name wrong Sean not Shawn :P
ReplyDeletesorry duly noted
Deleteno biggy
Delete