The New Codex: SeerK's First Impression

Now that I have had a few days to digest the new book we can begin again. I have to say its been

challenging writing lists. Expensive units have gotten cheaper in some cases and more expensive in others. The feel and dynamic of the codex has changed dramatically and there are some traps that I see. Overall I like the new book, but its going to be a long process to get it figured out completely. First lest look at some point differences that kind of matter.

So what got cheaper? Well for starters Wraithguard are 3 point cheaper than the last book. They clock in at 160 points for five and 32 points each past that. Not much has changed with the unit other than that. With the Spirit Seer as an HQ they are troops. This is a major change over the last book. Why? Because they don’t have to have a Warlock with them and they don’t have to be taken in units of 10. In terms of list building this is a major points reduction and makes Wraith Lists a very viable 1850 point option. This also make units of 5 a very nice close range anti tank choice. Anti infantry is also a decent option, albeit a more expensive one as equipping the unit with D-scythes is 10 points a model. You also cant mix and match weapons.

Jetbikes are much cheaper now as well. 51 points base for a unit of 3. 61 when you upgrade one to a shuriken cannon. With the pseudo rending capability of shuriken weaponry this makes them a very attractive Troops choice. Past doctrine dictated you have one or two units of three that you held in reserve to make late game objective grabs or late game contests. This is still a viable option, but things tend to come in sooner now with reserves. You can counter this with an Autarch. We now have genuine reserve manipulation. I will be interested to see what the FAQ says as it is a little vague as to weather the Autarch ability stacks with 2 Autarchs.

Some of the Aspect Warriors are cheaper as well. Dire Avengers, Howling Banshees and Dark Reapers all have seen point reductions. Dark Reapers are the most dramatic though. 5 points per model. The Reapers are my second favorite Aspect. The traditional unit of 5 with a kitted Exarch went for 227 points with a Eldar Missile Launcher, Fast Shot and Crack Shot. The the same unit now goes for 195 points. The difference is that all the Reapers can hit targets that are Jinking thanks to the Reaper Range Finder denying Jink saves, not ignore all cover but if the whole unit can do it I will take it. The whole unit also has night vision. The Exarch retains fast shot and has Flakk Missiles. You can add an extra Dark Reaper and still be under the points of the old unit. Squad size is now up to 10. Me thinks I need more Dark Reapers.

I know some will cry foul at this, but thats because you don’t know how to do basic math. Sorry to be harsh about it, but take a second look before crying Wave Serpents got more expensive. They are 115 points base now and come with twin linked shuriken cannons. The shield has also been upgraded. You cant get a penetrating hit on a wave serpent from the front or sides as long as the shield is up. Very nice when you thin about it. Not to mention you can also use it as a weapon with a range of 60 inches thats strength 7, ignores cover and is pinning. In the last book the same Tank with the old shield and no weapon was 100 points. Ok yes that is cheaper, but the cost saving comes from the loading on other weapons. I liked to put bright lances on my Serpents. Under the old codex a wave serpent with bright lances was 135 points, 155 if you included a shuriken cannon on the chin and spirit stones, which I usually did. Now the same vehicles is with the chin mount is 10 points cheaper. Yes it can be more expensive I admit that, but some configurations are cheaper and give you a large amount of anti tank punch. 10 points here and 5 points there add up in an army of specialists. Oh yeah I almost forgot, you are also BS 4 now. So throw that into the mix.

I have some slight modeling to do in the coming weeks. I have a ton of weapon “pods” I did for my war walkers to swap between weapons easily. I am going to have to do the same to all my Wave Serpents. I am also going to have to start getting weapons platforms for my guardian units as you can run a max of 2 if you have 20 man blobs. Speaking of the 20 man blob, this is the trap I am talking about.

The base price of a unit of 10 guardians is 90 points which is 10 point more than previously. 10 points is a bargain for BS 4 and a pseudo rending weapon. Things can add up quickly though when you blob them up to 20 and through in 2 platforms. If you are like me this also means putting a Warlock into the unit. Warlocks went up big time. Granted you don’t have to buy powers now so depending on what power they get, you could be getting a bargain or paying more. With Conceal as the Primaris power on the Runes Of Battle chart you can still run Guardians as you did. 5+ cover in the open, the only real benefit now is that is gives the unit Shrouded, so you actually can improve cover saves when you are in terrain. This makes Guardians decent objective holders as long as they are in cover with an objective. The real trick is to make sure they actually have the power going. This would be trap number 2.

Warlocks didn’t get a Leadership boost. You have to cast their powers at leadership 8. This is the other trap I speak of. You have to roll psychic tests for your Warlocks. They have no way to prevent perils or re roll psychic tests. Granted some of you may be like, “so what? I do that all the time with Guard or what not”. Well its rough for an Eldar player. We are not use to this. There is also a ton of book keeping involved, which makes running our specialist army that much tougher.

Well there you have it. Defiantly some major changes in strategy and doctrine. Spellduckwrong is working on some new methods for list building that I am looking forward to trying out and testing. Next time I am going to start going in depth with things. I am going to cover The Army Special rules next time.

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

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