Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Eldar (section)

===Elites===
[[Aspect Warriors]] are the meat and potatoes of the Eldar Army. They appear in Troops, Fast, Heavy, and Elites. They are the whole thing people are talking about when they say the Eldar Army is mostly specialists.  They have a pretty good statline, great leadership, and are all Fleet with Battle focus. Each squad of Aspect Warriors can upgrade one of their number to an Eldar Sergeant called an Exarch. Exarchs get bumps all over the statline - Initiative goes to a tyranid-like 6, attacks to 2, and most importantly they go up to 2 wounds - and they can then take fancy versions of their weapons. However, Exarchs have shifted radically in the new codex. They are all a base of ten more points (except for the Reapers) to gain the above benefits and a special rule that generally only benefits the Exarch. Remember, though, that you will generally not be playing an Exarch without any special weapons, so you will also be paying for those. With the loss of Exarch powers, their cost to effect ratio has to be carefully considered now and will be discussed more in depth in their respective aspect's entry. 
*'''Fire Dragons:''' Now you see the tank - '''FOOOOM!''' - now you don't - Fire dragons in a nutshell both past and present. A unit dedicated to making sure the most heavily armoured units of your enemy's army go away quickly once they're in range by adding +1 to all vehicle damage rolls. With their fusion guns (melta-guns) and melta-bombs tanks and fortifications stand little chance. They also demolish Monstrous Creatures, though not quite as well as Wraithguard. With a surprisingly good volume of fire for AP1, they're also one of the go-to units for terminating, err, Terminators. Their main drawback is they're expensive like lawyers, so be prepared to pay through the nose for them. A Falcon, Wave Serpent, Venom, or Raider transport is near-obligatory for them, so that will inflate the price further. The often asked question of Fire Dragons vs Wraithguard is a matter of what you normally play against. Wraithguard are better at handling Monstrous Creatures and Terminators while Fire Dragons destroy Vehicles and Fortification as described above. Both units are equally good at taking out Superheavies. However, Fire Dragons are usually cheaper, can fit in Falcons/Venoms period, have Battle-Focus by default (good for closing Melta gaps or ducking back in cover), and can become BS5 thanks to the Aspect Host Formation.
**'''Exarchs:''' Lose all their badass rules, with the only difference between them and a basic Dragon being the ability to re-roll one die during the shooting phase. Can replace their fusion gun with:
***'''Dragon's Breath Flamer:'''A Heavy Flamer. Generally considered a waste of the Exarch's skills, but can be a handy "backup" weapon, in case you're up against Genestealer Cults or other infantry-heavy foes.
***'''Fire Pike:''' Fusion gun with 6" extra range while still being an Assault weapon, lets you hide your Exarch behind his friends and still hit the target.
*'''Striking Scorpions:''' The heavy ninja melee force of the Eldar infantry. Sneaky and sinister they constitute a strong force for assault units and strength 4 beatings. They sport a ludicrous amount of abilities and rules - 3+ armour, +1S chainswords, plasma grenades and Mandiblasters (50% chance of a savable auto-wound at Init 10 that hits automatically) complement Stealth, Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Fleet (unlike the 4th ed variants) and Battle Focus right off the bat, giving the flexible commander a ton of options. Also has Shrouded until they shoot or charge, so that's a good bonus! They're every bit as good at straight combat (they'll maul hordes and even take down Tactical squads through weight of attacks on the charge - 2 normally, 3 on the charge+Mandiblaster hits) as they are at wreaking havoc in your opponent's deployment zone when used correctly. Fleet ensures that their mobility problems compared to Banshees are a thing of the past (mostly). Their only real problem now is their inability to get through 2+ saves, so keep them focused on lightly armoured foes. If you must face TEQ's try to face smaller squads if  possible and ensure your Exarch is still alive, use your weight of attacks and the Exarchs Scorpion Claw to take them down before they strike back. Or if you rolled it use the Jinx psychic power to reduce their armour save to more reasonable levels. Remember though only do this if necessary, there are far more efficient anti-TEQ units in your army and Scorpions would be better served focusing elsewhere but just remember they are not useless at it either.
**'''Exarchs:''' Gained a very fancy new power in the 7th edition codex: in a Challenge, compare the Exarch's Initiative to the enemy character's. For every point of Initiative the Exarch has over the opponent, the Exarch gains an extra attack. Can equip:
***'''Scorpion claw:''' Grants him x2 Strength attacks with AP2 and no loss of speed, with a shuriken catapult added in just for fun. No two-handed or specialist weapon, so he still gets an extra attack for having a sword. The most expensive weapon choice but rightfully so.
***'''Biting blade:''' A Two-Handed sword that hits at S5 AP4 at the cost of his chainsword.  Ehhh, skip.
***'''Chainsabres:''' Two weapons that grant a shuriken catapult and gives the scorpion rending in melee. Cheap but fairly crappy.
*'''Howling Banshees:''' These sword-wielding ladies are the fast, lightweight, hand-to-hand Aspect of the Eldar warhost, designed to blend MEQ armour across a large swath of the battlefield. With AP3 power swords and their trademark Banshee masks (which now mean the Bansheees can't be overwatched when charging and they cause Fear. [[Tau|Guess which army's fucking ridiculous overwatch we can now mess up?]]). With their lighter armour they always need to grab the charge to get in as many attacks as possible, and now grab Acrobatic, giving them a bonus 3" on their Run moves and charge moves. MEQs will be mown down by them, but hordes will overwhelm them and TEQs will eat them for breakfast, so choose your battles wisely. A good idea is to to use Banshees as more defensive CC units to protect your gun-line units from potential enemy charges. Striking Scorpions are better suited as backfield enemy harassers with their better armour and strength (arguably making them the better option to use against TEQ'S and Monstrous Creatures). Banshees overwatch defenses and longer charges make them great deterrents against outflankers and infiltrating squads that might try to sneak around to take out your HQ's or long-range weaponry.  Transports are optional - they'll get there faster, but Eldar have no assault transports. If you use Dark Eldar or Harlequin allies, consider grabbing a Venom/Raider or a Starweaver instead. Luckily they got a bit of a points reduction this edition. Be aware that the masks no longer confer the initiative debuff that they once did - be somewhat careful when dealing with Slaaneshi Chaos Marines, unless you also have Jain Zar.
**'''Exarchs:''' Became kinda weak without their purchased powers.  Now they can only make enemies they're in combat with take -2 Leadership.  Can equip:
***'''Executioners:''' Nasty two-handed power weapon at S5 AP2. (The only chance the Exarch has in a challenge!)
***'''Mirror swords:''' Replaces both the pistol and power sword for AP 3 and a Master-crafted re-roll. (Not worth paying for 1 re-roll instead of shooting!)
***'''Triskele:''' A throwing weapon with S3 AP3 Assault 3 that funnily enough replaces the power sword.  Could be worth it as you run down MEQ since it also doubles as a power sword (Which Jain Zar's strangely <s>can't do</s> Yes it can, its an AP 2 shred sword you mong).
*'''[[Wraithguard]]:''' Resilient and terrible in their destructive power Wraithguard are the otherworldly goliaths of Eldar infantry, and their vigil is eternal. With a toughness of 6 and 3+ armor save Wraithguard are as durable as terminator equivalents of other armies and wield terrific weapons. The Wraithcannon is short ranged but utterly lethal against all targets - a Strength D AP2 gun that shreds all targets with equal fury with the ability to instantly demolish almost anything thanks to the Destroyer rule. Importantly, this makes them quite possibly the best destroyers of monstrous and gargantuan creatures available. The D-scythe has received a buff too- they gained strength D but they get a -1 on the Destroyer table (meaning the 6 result is totally out) and they only count as strength four for instant death.Consider carefully if the ten points more per model is worth the reduced destroyer effectiveness and lack of ID to potentially drown your enemy in wounds (and don't forget that you will have D3 Strength D auto-hits when firing overwatch). You want to use the Wraithguard as the anvil of your army, moving up fearlessly each turn while other more mobile Eldar chip away at your opponent’s forces. Once in range of a target Wraithguard will kill it, no questions, and they will stick around a lot longer than your enemies will be comfortable with. Six can fit into a Wave Serpent and emerge to deliver unfair levels of wrath upon their targets. Plus these guys are tough enough to survive a crash landing without a single casualty.
*'''Wraithblades:''' Like Wraithguard, Wraithblades are Eldar wraithbone constructs, only with a focus on melee combat as opposed to near melee ranged weaponry, distinctively having Rage for 2 extra attacks on the charge. Wraithblades come with two kit options which can alter their dynamic pretty significantly. Base loadout is two Ghostswords, giving you +1S and AP3, which works well against MEQ squads. Ghostaxes give you +2S and AP2, and the accompanying Forceshield gives you a 4++ on top of your already significant protection, and will never see you wrong when up against TEQs. Either way, they're very impressive in combat, as with their natural toughness they're hard work for even AP3-equipped assault units, and will trash most equivalently-priced units when given the latter loadout. One idea is to stick a bunch of Forceshield-equipped Blades in front of your key unit and watch your opponent weep with frustration as nearly everything bounces off them. As a bonus, they now cost 10 points less than a squad of Wraithguard. They can take a Wave Serpent, but probably don't want to in most cases. Due to the new 7th Edition Rulebook FAQ, no battle brothers can deploy inside allied transports, so no more throwing Wraithblades or Wraithguard into Raiders, unless you want to have them stand around and embark on Turn 1.