Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Eldar (section)

===Troops===

All Units in this section have the Path of War ability (which is the old Objective Secured, and will be referred to as such).

*'''[[Guardian]] Defenders''': When you're looking to quite literally fill out your troop choice with as many bodies as possible, Guardian Defenders are probably going to be your go-to choice. At 8-points a model, they're a touch pricier than their GEQ counterparts in other armies, but they make up for it with their Space Marine level accuracy, speed and access to many support options that can turn them into one of the most resilient infantry units in your army. Every 10 members per squad allows you to purchase a Heavy Weapon Platform that can be kitted out with any standard Heavy Weapon available to you, enabling your Guardians to take potshots against a wide variety of targets they may otherwise be borderline useless against. This by no means should encourage you to chuck your Guardians at your opponent's Leman Russ tanks just because you gave them a Bright Lance, but they can certainly try to bip a shot or two at it while your Fire Dragons or Wraithguard get into position. The Shuriken Catapult each Guardian comes stock with may at first seem underwhelming, a 12" range, 2 shot S4 gun that ''may'' be AP-3 if luck favors you, but in the numbers you'll be fielding Guardians in, they make shockingly effective blob blenders that can seriously lock down objectives or discourage anyone from charging recklessly into your turf.
**[[Awesome |It's actually possible to get them up to a 3+/3++/5+++ against shooting by combining Fortune and Protect with Celestial Shield]]. Ulthwé gives a 6+ FNP for free so they don't really need to use Fortune. It's also possible to get them to -2 to be hit (-3 for Alaitoc) as well so they're now more durable than you think if there are Psykers close enough to support them.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="10>
'''Heavy Weapon Platform Loadout Options:''' As stated, every 10 Guardians per unit allows them to take a Heavy Weapon, maximum of two. The standard fare is available to them, though they must pay a slight fee for the platform itself in addition to the gun.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''Shuriken Cannon''':
**A great option for Guardians on the move, Battle Focus makes this the only "heavy" weapon that lets your Defenders run and gun with no penalties. Ideal for Biel-Tan lists.
*'''Scatter Laser''':
**The cheapest choice is also a solid one. Long ranged anti-GEQ firepower works fairly well with large squads of Guardians, especially if you go big enough to field a pair of them.
*'''Starcannon''':
**A mid-tier choice for mid-tier units, the Starcannon cuts out some of the "all-or-nothing" attitude the your shuriken weaponry has regarding armor. A good supplementary choice against MEQ armies, but unless your Guardians are close enough to contribute their firepower as well, don't expect it to clear squads on its own.
*'''Bright Lance''':
**If you have the points to spare and if you plan on having your Defenders hang back and defend key locations, the bright lance is a good, if pricey choice for contributing firepower against monsters and tanks. You can also buff these to hit on a 2+ for Ulthwé Guardian Defenders, but one would argue the AML would be a better choice.
*'''Aeldari Missile Launcher''':
**Same price as the bright lance, though much more flexible. Not only does it perform decently against both single heavy targets and groups of small targets, but your Guardian Defenders arguably get the most out of this particular gun than anyone else who can take it (namely Ulthwé ones). ''Discipline of the Black Guardians'' grants the ever reliable accuracy most other units (even Dark Reapers) can't quite compare to and the ''Starshot Missile'' offers a clutch anti-{{W40Kkeyword|Fly}} option that can smack Mortal Wounds on airborne targets. Their exceptional range also makes them fantastic for backline Guardians acting as deep-strike buffers or objective defenders so that they can contribute something cross field.

</div>
</div>

*'''[[Storm Guardians]]''': They are faster and they can assault out of Wave Serpents, so they suck a bit less than in 7th. Sadly they are quite a niche unit outside of some very specific roles. They are the cheapest option to get Fusion Guns and Flamers onto the board, and at 48 points per 8-Elf Squad are the cheapest way to fill out a Brigade Detachment, so they do have that going for them. Sadly, they lost their high initiative with nothing to compensate for that other than being able to shoot their decent pistols in melee. And their "exquisitely crafted" Aeldari blades are..... different, now allowing you to re-roll misses which is something that would be amazing on almost any [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Eldar_Harlequins(8E)#TroopsTroupes|unit]] other than the one that got them... One niche they do have in the Codex is a cheap bodyguard unit for characters in an Ulthwé detachment. With the Guardian exclusive stratagems they are more accurate than Aspect Warriors and stick around decently enough with a Warlock helping them, so can compete with other Aeldari melee options, but the support they need to do so might be better served on other units. Like the Aspect Warriors doing the actual killing. If we are also considering allies: [[Wyches]], however are strictly better for tarpitting and are only a little more expensive, and Troupes are by far the better pick for actual melee combat, though you can easily field 2 Storm Guardian squads for the same cost.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="10>
'''Weapon Options:''' Aside the complimentary Shuriken Pistol, each storm guardian has their choice of taking either a chainsword or aeldari blade. Two of every eight Storm Guardians can instead take one of two special weapons and arguably serve as the primary reason to even take these guys at all.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''Aeldari Blade'''
**The default blade that is complete trash. The only benefit it provides is that it allows Storm Guardians to re-roll failed hits in the fight phase. Seeing as how this is strictly worse than just gaining another attack, never take this.
*'''Chainsword'''
**A completely free upgrade that grants Storm Guardians an extra attack. Always take this.
*'''Flamer'''
**One of exactly two units in the entire Craftworld codex who has access to the bog-standard flamer. One or two of these in a standard unit is actually quite useful against GEQ armies. Their range meshes nicely with the rest of the squad's shuriken pistols and serves quite well as a prelude for and against charges.
*'''Fusion Gun'''
**Serves the exact opposite purpose the Storm Guardian's flamer does. In a similar vein to taking a bright lance or AML on a Guardian Defender squad, you take these to supplement your existing forces rather than replacing them, as the Storm Guardian squad as a whole likely won't contribute jack shit to the type of targets the fusion gun is designed for. Additionally, these guns can get expensive quite quickly and decking out your S. Guardians with them can negate one of their biggest selling points: dirt cheap prices. On the plus side, Ulthwé S. Guardians can take advantage of their unique stratagem for +2 to-hit fusion guns, something even your Fire Dragons can't quite match.
*'''Power Sword (Legends)'''
**Kind of a "special weapon" in its own right, only two models per squad can take a power sword in lieu of their aeldari blade. The AP is nice, but each model wielding the sword only gets one attack at S3 a turn. Give this a skip.

</div>
</div>

*'''Dire Avengers''': At 11 points per model, they could seem like an overpriced Guardian unit, but their increased range, better overwatch, better save and unique Exarch options open up for several interesting uses. They are usually considered as a Jack-of-All-Trades unit, that can be tailored to your special needs by choosing the appropriate Exarch option. In most cases, they excel at harassing slower melee units by constantly advancing back from the enemy and keeping the distance at 18". And even when they get caught, their overwatch is nothing to laugh about (remember your Grenades, [[Troll |so if your opponent is 6" away when charging...]]). Don't forget the Exarch's 4++ invuln, that can possibly tank some high AP shots. There are many ways of fielding these guys, including:
**10-man squad in a Wave Serpent, possibly supported by Guide, Doom, Jinx or Reveal, that clears some objective from soft targets or a small MEQ unit. If you want to field Asurmen, take two of these!
**5-man squad that shares a Serpent with a small unit of Fire Dragons, in order to kill the passengers of the transport the Dragons just melted.
**10-man squad that footslogs together with an Avatar straight up to the enemy, who takes care of the big targets, while the Avengers keep him free of tarpits.
**Squad of arbitrary size that stays at your back line in order to shield your fire base and counter deep striking enemies.
**5-man squad for 55 points filling up a brigade detachment.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="10>
'''Exarch Powers:''' Dire Avengers Exarchs by default have the '''Battle Fortune''' ability, granting them a 4+ invulnerable save. This can either be exchanged for one of the following powers, or you may pay 1 CP for one particular Dire Avenger Exarch to keep Battle Fortune and take one of the following.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''Bladestorm'''
**While the Exarch is part of the unit, all non-Grenade ranged weapons score an additional hit on an unmodified hit roll of a 6. Can prove somewhat handy, especially with bigger squads or on Exarchs dual-wielding ASCs.  Equivalent to +1 to hit (and stacks with it), even on Overwatch (where it works fine, unlike real modifiers).  Offensively speaking, this is the best power of the bunch (Avenging Strike would be better if you could reliably lose only a few members, but that's challenging compared to losing none or many).
*'''Defend'''
**Squads accompanying an Exarch with this force opponents to subtract 1 from wound rolls made by melee weapons against them. Basically a free, constant Enervate debuff (which can be stacked with Enervate for a -2 to wound roll).  Given your Exarch can actually participate in melee to a decent degree, this isn't a bad trait to take for objective defenders expecting company.
*'''Stand Firm'''
**Straight up morale immunity for a squad containing an Exarch with this power. As in, you auto-pass all morale tests, don't roll any dice. Another decent ability that has uses in maxed out squads, but is somewhat overshadowed by other abilities you can take here instead - and why take 1 10-elf squad when you can take 2 5-elf squads?
*'''Martial Adept'''
**This Exarch has a WS/BS of 2+. A pretty good trait that is great for either ranged or melee exarchs. Precious few troop choices in the game can get a built in BS/WS of a 2+ with the abundant access to hit rerolls and performance buffing psychic powers you have.  If you're sticking to ranged combat, this is going to be worse than Bladestorm, which is functionally BS2+ for the entire unit; only take this if you really plan on getting into melee, or are obsessed with your Exarch's grenades.
*'''Shredding Fire'''
**All ranged non-grenade weapons fired by this Exarch gain AP-3 at all times, losing the "critical hit" AP-3 on a wound roll of 6 rule. This is generally speaking ''terrible'', because even on a 5-elf unit, targets are few and far between where this will outperform Bladestorm, due to this only buffing the Exarch's shots, not the squad's.
*'''Avenging Strike'''
**While your Exarch is alive and the squad itself has taken at least one casualty, you add 1 to each model's hit and wound rolls. This is also a very good power; you will invariably lose at least one model from your units as the battle progresses and these roll buffs apply for all attacks made by every remaining model.  The only downside is also an upside: your opponent won't willingly leave an injured squad alive, so be prepared for this to turn into the real power being that your Dire Avengers can control your opponent's flow.
**''Given you also get +1 to wound, this means that the rending effect on 6s will also trigger on 5s too.
</div>
</div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="10>
'''Exarch Weapons:''' Your Dire Avenger Exarch arguably has the most flexible loadout choices among all the other aspect warriors. If you don't want to spend any extra points on him, he just packs around an avenger shuriken catapult just like his less obsessed kin.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''Two Avenger Shuriken Catapults''':
**Exactly what it sounds like, your Exarch simply dual-wields two ASC's. Given you're doubling his ranged output for a measily 3 points, you'll almost always want to take this on any standard loadout. As they're counted as two individual guns (not "twin-linked"), you may choose separate targets for each gun, so there's that going for him too.
*'''Power Glaive and Shuriken Pistol''': 
**Shave 6" and half the shots from your ranged weapon, but get a power axe equivalent. Has some decent usage when up against GEQ/MEQ, but is arguably outperformed offensively by the Diresword or even just sticking with the shuripults.
*'''Power Glaive and Shimmershield''':
**Completely forego any ranged weapons on your Exarch in exchange for a squadwide 5++ invulnerable save. A pricey upgrade that is now considerably more attractive for Exarchs giving up their invulnerable save for one of their fancy new powers. Due to the way those powers work, you ideally don't want the squad Exarch to tank shots unnecessarily and this will let the rest of your meat shields gain at least some guaranteed protection to compensate.
*'''Diresword and Shuriken Pistol''': 
**Again, sacrifice a bit of your ranged firepower to get a power sword equivalent that's AP-2, but slaps a mortal wound in addition to any damage dealt on a wound roll of 6. Since your Exarch is naturally S3 and would've needed to roll a 5 or 6 just to wound most MEQ units anyways, this is a reasonably decent loadout for Exarchs you expect to be up on the front lines. Season this with a Warlock casting either Protect or Empower on him, or posse up with Asurmen to more efficiently lay the smackdown on enemies in melee.
</div>
</div>

*'''Rangers''': Deep Striking Snipers that can target characters regardless of restrictions. [[Awesome]]. They also gain a 3+ Save in cover and anything firing on them has -1 BS to hit, meaning that they can be a nightmare to get rid of, especially if they are Alaitoc and/or a Warlock is nearby. Sniper units all have an essential Character Hunting role to play in 8th Edition, and they are fantastic units to spread out to deny your opponent the ability to Deep Strike exactly where they want to, so these guys are a strong contender for  any of your Troop slots regardless of Craftworld. They are 12 points per model, making each 5-Elf Squad 60 Points each.
**'''Remember''': Snipers won't kill an Ork Warboss alone, but they can sure as hell take out the Painboy buffing him up, or snipe that Commissar keeping that Conscript blob from breaking the second your Wraithguard or Shadow Spectres open up on them.
** '''Note''': Due to Heavy Weapons no longer Snap Firing on the move, and the Rangers also having pistols (for if you need to use Battle Focus), these guys are a lot more mobile than you might think.
**They are now the best unit to take for a Brigade Detachment to get those precious command points.
** '''Deployment''': If you have some larger ruins on your table, make sure to place one or two of the objective markers on the very top of those, and then let your Rangers appear right there. Perfect for trolling sluggish, ground-bound armies.