Eldar Trickery: Tactica : Blade Rush



Bladestorm when it absolutely, positively has to be removed from the table.

The other day I started looking back through all my old posts and smiling as the memories associated with them got brought back. But in my musings on the past I noticed one trend, that I have rarely if ever just talked about tactics that one can use with the Eldar. So I figured I would have some posts in the future, starting with this one, that talk about tactics I use when I play. When I started thinking of what tactic to start with I figured I would go with my most favorite one, the tactic I call Blade Rush.


What is Blade Rush you ask, well in truth it is a combination psyic, shooting, and assault tactic. Now what does that mean? Well it starts off with the selection of a target, most of the time the target you need to be removed from the table in the most painful and successful way possible. In turth this target actually needs to be chosen the turn before so that you can get your pieces into play for the BladeRush. The main pieces involved in the BladeRush are A Farseer, and a unit of Dire Avengers with BladeStorm. After you have chosen your target and your pieces are where they need to be you start off with what I like to call the Eldar Psychic phase, the time you cast non psy shooting powers before moving. The main power that is used in this is Doom, it makes that handfull of dice that you will be shortly picking up even more devistating. With the power cast and upon the target you go into your normal movement phase, for the BladeRush you will want to move your Dire Avengers as close as possible.

After moving everything, you go into the shooting phase, I normally add a few more things to the mix to help ensure what I am trying to kill dies, but for this example I will stick to just the DA squad. A full DA squad with a PW/SS Exarch throws out 27 shots, with a potential of even more if you Twin Cat the Exarch. I normally don't run the twin cats exarch because it can't really perform the final step to the Blade Rush. With a BS of 4 and rerolling wounds that 27 dice is going to put some serious hurting on what ever it hits. But the Dire Avengers are not done yet, oh no, the last and final part of the BladeRush is the charge. *Gasps* Charge? You realize your playing Eldar right Elthrai? Yes.. Yes I do. The charge is the final and in someways the most insedious part of the BladeRush. My DA squads come kitted with an exarch that has both  Defend and Bladestorm packing a PW and Shimmershield. So when they charge they each get 2 attacks a piece while the enemy loses one to a min of one, doing this to assault marines or things with a base 2 attacks is just rude as that attack reduction will continue for as long as the Exarch lives. With I 5 and I6 you will go first against most things, and the shimmer shield gives you atleast a chance to surive the now limited attacks back. Now granted if cover is involved, and the lack of any type of grenade will hurt the Da but not as much as you would think, with the damage done to them by the shooting and their loss of an attack thanks to defend there isn't as many attacks coming your way.

So with each step achieved you are looking at 27 shooting attacks getting 18 close combat attacks, 3 power weapon attacks, and rerolling all the wounds to those attacks. That is 48 attacks coming from one squad in one turn, that is a good bit of Fire Pressure on one squad. I'll get into the concept of Fire Pressure in further posts, anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this little bit of Eldar Trickery. 



A Return with a Vengeance.

You win some, you lose some, but sometimes you just get......

This last sunday I finally got in a game with the Eldar, the picture above was an accurate description of what happened in that game. Now I know what all of you powered armored players are thinking. 'Hurrr Eldar got raped hurrr' But in that regards my ceramite armored cromagnon friends you would be wrong. I played a buddy of mine vs a Mech IG list he wanted to try out. Being that my friend had never played against Eldar before I figured I would go easy and make just a fun list without the Seer Bike Squad of Doom. So I dusted off the Autarch and the warpsiders and make a passable Mechdar list. My friend made an all Plas/Melta Vet Guard army with 6 Leman russes, 3 being normal LRs and 2 being Vanq with the last Vanq being Point and Click Pask. To be honest when I saw the list being brought out I began to pucker up a bit for I knew what was going to come if I ever got knocked out of my transports.

I got even more worried when the first dice of the game was rolled, Annihilation, not an Eldar strong point. However the second dice gave me my first glimmer of hope, Dawn of War. Half table deployment and nightfight makes an Eldar player very happy if they are going first. Since I had won that roll off I decided to setup and go first, setting my army up in a formation which my tanks were protectd by my waveserpents I took a deep breath and waited for my opponent to set up. My opponent decided to have everything drive on first turn. My first turn begins and I fly my tanks closer but not too close, making sure since I had no targets first turn he would only find covered targets his first turn. I took a deep breath and braced as he rolled onto the board with a majority of his LR facing down my Prisms and Waveserpents. The guard opened up with only one shot not getting the distance due to night fight. With slightly less than average rolls he managed to Pin the leading Waveserpent which held the firedragons three times and a fireprism once. With some true eldar trickery and good cover saves I shrugged off that first turn without a scratch.

My second turn is when the box above arrived, I forgot to roll for reserves so my Warpspiders would have to sit this one out. So I moved up my WS with the dragons and deposited them right infront of the regular LR squadron. My Prisms moved to where one could get a good shot on Pask and the other link. My shooting started off well with my Nightspinner wrecking one chimera and webbing 3 others. My firedragons slagged 2 of the LR and stunned the last. A Brightlance from a WS took off the stunned LR battlecannon, while my Prisms point and clicked Pask right off the board. My second Lance Serpent killed a Vanq LR with its single shot. Figuring I had done about as well as I could I shot my shuri cannon serpents at the chimera, and wound up getting a side armor on one which promptly exploded, and a lucky wep destroyed on the other. All in all I was quite happy with that turn of shooting. My opponents next turn started up and when he attempted to move the first webbed chimera it became immobile due to the web. He spread out the rest of the chimeras so that the web couldnt hit as many as it did before and disembarked some troops to deal with the firedragons. His turn of shooting came up and he vaporised the dragons with plasma shots, his one and only vanq shot knocked out a prism rolling both a 5 and a 6 on the damage chart. (I know you are dancing for joy at that Grizz.) but after that his rolled turned against him and he was unable to do any more damage to me.

My third turn came around with me moving into safer distances from the melta/plas vets and their rides I remembered to roll for my spiders but they didnt come in, silly 1's. My shooting opened up with me killing the last vanq, and stunning the last LR, and the night spinner picking up a whole 10 man squad of doomed vets. At which point my opponent shook his head held up his hands and conceded the game with little ability to hurt me let alone catch me at this point. All in all it was a good game for the Eldar to come back to. We will have to see if they get some more game time soon.

A Return from the Web Way.

"From Darkness of the void we return, from Shadow of dispair we return. If neither of these could consume us what makes you think you can Mon-Keigh."

Great Googly Moogly Bat man it has been a long time since I dusted the cobwebs off this old thing. I know.. I know what you great and mighty Eldar players are thinking. 'Oh Elthrai you silly cad you, you had to run off with your new mistress the Grey Knights for a while but you have returned to your one and true love, The Eldar.' That is true, I have had a yearning as of late for the shenanigans of the Eldar. I must give credit where credit is due, The Grizz. I was teasing with him about a week ago that I would bring back the Eldar, though sadly at the time it was merely a joke, it got me thinking what if. So I started thinking more and more upon it what would I do if I brought the Eldar back out. Also it did not hurt to have found some Eldar related books that from the views are not complete garbage (Cough Gotto Cough)

So I have decided that the next game I will play of 40k will be with the Pointy Eared Master Race. A friend spoke of coming over to the ol place and getting a game in tonight, so I will try to probably squeeze in the Eldar then. Sadly the gaming scene around here has dried up after the Griz and PariahStevo moved away. Sad Panda. But we have weathered dry spells before, and hopefully with some luck we will weather through again. Anywho, got to hop off here before class. I'll try and post tomorrow with the results of the game tonight.