Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Eldar (section)

====[[Phoenix Lords]]====

[[Fail |Sadly, Phoenix Lords can't take a Warlord Trait]]. That's right, these millennial patriarchs of craftworld military doctrine and martial champions apparently lack the tactical acumen to lead their forces more efficiently than the nameless Warlocks trying to figure out where the pointy part of the witchblade is supposed to go. The one can only excuse this by mentioning that they're arguably too consumed by war and with too alien a viewpoint to be an effective leader when compared to an Autarch or Farseer.

Phoenix Lords are remarkably durable (by Eldar standards at least) with an average statline of M7, WS/BS 2+, S/T 4, W6, A6, Ld9, and a 2+/4++ save as well as the ability to only take up to three wounds each phase, similar to Ghazghkull. Not all Phoenix Lords are created equally, obviously, and they all have various perks and draws to differentiate themselves from each other and to accentuate their respective Aspect (or, you know, do whatever Maugan Ra is doing). Every single one of them has a 6" aura that grants the aspect warriors of their temple ObSec and +2 Ld. Unfortunately, some of them (like Maugan Ra and Jain Zar to an extent) don't really function well themselves when paired with their students and thus are less attractive options to pick up for your army. You know, aside from the fact that only two of the following characters (three if you count Irillyth) [[fail|actually has a model less than 20 years old]].

*'''[[Asurmen]]:''' Has a S+2 AP-3 3D sword, which inflicts an additional 1d3 Mortal Wounds on a nat 6 to wound, and twin souped-up Avenger Shuriken Catapults for ranged combat. Sadly, he lost a lot of his support powers and now only has the ObSec aura given to all the Phoenix Lords. Arguably, his is only worth it because the Exarch Power that grants Avengers ObSec on their own is only usable once, so you can use this to make sure others can snag objectives. Also comes with a 3++ for added durability. 
** With some support, Asurmen can be disgustingly tanky in a fight. He's got a 2+/3++ save that doesn't need Protect, but he can be supported with Enervate/Drain if you so desire. That said, your opponent may simply bow out of fighting him and try to light him up with excessive fire. Even if he can only lose three wounds in a phase, you don't exactly have a way to heal him for the next barrage.
*'''[[Baharroth]]:''' Baharroth is surprisingly the most durable of the Phoenix Lords, thanks to his insane maneuverability, but is not cheap at 160 points. The only way for him to die is if you mess up your positioning. He has the same Sudden Assault and Cloudstrider abilities his Swooping Hawks have as well as the Phoenix Lord's ObSec aura for fellow hawks. Unlike normal Hawks though, he can teleport out of combat instead of consolidating. That means you can shoot, charge, attack, and escape before the opponent has a chance to swing back in melee. You can drop him wherever his support abilities are needed.  He also has a super lasblaster with S6 AP-2 D2 that auto-wounds on a nat 6 to hit, and an S+1 AP-3 D2 sword that scores an additional hit on a nat 6 to hit.
*'''[[Fuegan]]:''' If you thought Fire Dragons were awesome, wait until you get a load of this guy. His Firepike got a major buff by gaining two modes, either a tank-cracking S10 AP-4 D4+d6 or a less-lethal S6 AP-3 D4 beam that burns through any models in between him and his marked foe, and he packs his trusty Fire Axe which is AP-4 D3 (note Fuegan is S5!) to hack infantry. He's pretty kitted out as is and pairing him with his dragons allows him to at least mitigate their mob management. Also gets a special rule to be a little bit better in melee with +1S and +1A after he's taken some damage earlier in the game. 
*'''[[Irillyth]]  (Forge World):''' Irillyth is... interesting. At 140 points, he's just barely more expensive than a standard squad of his Shadow Spectres. At his base level, he brings the rather standard Phoenix Lord statline (-2 attacks) to the table with the only major standout point being his 12" movement and the ability to deep strike. His main weapon, ''Spear of Starlight'', is essentially just a buffed up Prism Rifle at Assault 3 S8 AP-4 D3 which trades the dispersed firing mode his students get to use for a rather snappy melee profile of S+1(5) AP-3 D2, although with only 4 attacks instead of 6. This turns him into a certified Space Marine murderer who can easily hang out with a squad or two of his disciples in order to pop in unannounced and vaporize a rather troublesome backline squad of Devastators or Heavy Intercessors. His ''Reaper of Souls'' ability was also re-tooled to the bog-standard 6" +2 Leadership and ObSec aura every Phoenix Lord grants their disciples. Not the best power he could've given them, as a generic Autarch could've done that much, but at least he himself can operate comfortably at the same ranges his charges tend to work at. Defensively, he's a bit of a tank these days; though his rather unimpressive T4 won't turn any heads, a defensive lineup of a 2+/4++ save hidden behind a -1 to-hit debuff can make him extraordinarily challenging to move, especially if supported with psychic powers. All things said and done, Irillyth is looking ''much'' better this edition, though he's still something of a niche pick and offers little to no synergy with the rest of your army on his own... like most Phoenix Lords.
**Ever due to GW's fickle nature (and the likely low sales of this particular model), Irillyth is no longer actively available for sale on Forge World's website. It remains to be seen if GW will continue to support his profile in the future with occasional Made-to-Order sessions or even convert him into plastic, but it's equally if not far more likely that he's off to join the likes of the Vampire, Wasp Assault Walker and Phoenix in Warhammer Legends retirement.
*'''[[Jain Zar]]:''' Jain Zar is still a terrifying melee combatant who wields both ''Silent Death'' (an Assault 6 S6 AP-3 weapon) and the ''Blade of Destruction'' (an Executioner that can either hit at S+2 AP-2 D2 to hack up marines or AP-3 D1 with double hits to blend hordes) on the mostly standard Phoenix Lord statline. Combined with the flurry of special abilities native to her aspect, such as preventing overwatch or setting to defend, advancing after charging with a -1 hit penalty to enemies that always strike last on that fight phase, she will find it particularly easy to get stuck into combat and do some heavy damage. With how powerful the banshees are this edition, you'll absolutely be seeing her fighting alongside her disciples for a follow-up charge.
*'''[[Karandras]]:''' Hell yes, our infiltrating super-ninja warrior! He has the average Phoenix Lord stat-line and currently runs 150 points. He has Advance Positions as well as exploding attacks (6s to hit generate a single additional hit and a natural 6 to wound deals 2 mortal wounds on non-vehicle units with super-Mandiblasters). His Scorpion's Claw [[Arhra]]'s Bane is a power fist with no hit penalty with a stronger shuriken catapult strapped on. If you give him Empower, [[Awesome|he is wounding everything below T8 on a 2+, letting him take on anything short of a Super-Heavy]], <s>and [[Rape|Enhance means his attacks explode on a 5+, or 4+ if the target is cowering in cover]]</s>. This doesn't account for his chainsword, which doubles his attack output and lets him rip apart chaff easily (and with Doom and strands of fate wound dice can be up to 24 mortal wounds on top of the normal damage!!) 
*'''[[Maugan Ra]]:''' Our shooty Lord is expensive at 160 points and the slowest of them at M6, but his new model looks appropriately edgy as fuck. His Maugetar got another rework, now being 36" Assault 6 S7 AP-2 D2 that deals a MW on a 6 to wound - a sizeable buff to his anti-infantry prowess, especially when each kill he makes counts as double for morale. Not to mention that this still allows him to slip away with Battle Focus.  The scythe end of his gun is also a powerful S+2 AP-2 D2, making him decent at taking on enemy characters or heavies.