Editing Warhammer 40,000/5th Edition Tactics/Eldar (section)

===Fast Attack===
*'''Swooping Hawk'''
Swooping Hawks are the lightweight Eldar jump infantry. Their rifles have excellent reach and fire twice, though they are quite weak. They also come stock with Haywire Grenades, which are somewhat impotent anti-vehicle weapons, except in large groups (which is not particularly efficient with something so expensive as Hawks). Hawks can Deep Strike and while doing so can fling a large blast template anywhere on the table. They are as fragile as cake frosting. Their Exarch has two available rifle upgrades: the Sun Rifle which fires 6 times and is Pinning, or the Hawk's Talon which fires 3 times at S5. He can also take a power sword for dubious reasons (but at least gets to keep his gun). Exarch powers are Skyleap, which lets your Hawk squad fly off the table and Deep Strike again the next turn (flinging another bomb), and Intercept, which means the squad can hit enemy vehicles on a 4+ no matter what.

Hawks continue to be unpopular because they are yet another fancy, fun way to inefficiently shred infantry and die to Grot muskets. Their anti-vehicle capabilities are only significant in a large volley size.  Against a good old Tactical Squad with a Heavy Bolter, the Hawks will probably lose both the direct gunfight or melee. They carry low-power weapons and share poor armor and low T with the rest of the Eldar army, so in effect you are paying a pretty high price just for their mobility. 

*'''Shining Spears'''
An Aspect Warrior on a jetbike, near twice the price of the Guardian on a jetbike. Shining Spears' bikes similarly carry the twin 12" rifle, T4, 3+ armor save and "shoot and scoot" rule that we all adore. Spears additionally bring a Laser Lance, which can be fired 6" at S6 (Lance) and can stab guys in melee as a S6 Power Weapon (Lance). Note that they do not carry pistols, and anything that the Lance rule applies to is still too tough for S6 weapons to reliably crack. The Exarch can replace his jetbike's catapults with a cannon, which is useful for softening up infantry before you charge, and replace his laser lance with a power weapon (why would you do that) or with a S8 Star Lance that gibs Space Marines and can actually potentially crack a Land Raider. Exarch powers include Skilled Rider and Withdraw (Hit and Run), which are both probably necessary.

Shining Spears are another case of 'expensive fun fancy infantry shredder.' As pointed out here, their weapons are quirky and they aren't particularly the last word in any kind of fighting. They cost the same as a Wraithguard, and you will probably double down points on the Exarch. They are not qualified to kill Space Marine Dreadnaughts or Land Raiders except in dire emergencies. Still, they are more efficient in high-point games and small gangs of Spears have been known to do great things, such as dogfighting Dark Eldar, crushing enemy deep strikers and running down artillery. Oh, and there's no Phoenix Lord of the Shining Spears. For those of you who care.

*'''Vyper Jetbike''' 
They're big jetbikes, 45 points stock, carrying twin rifles underneath and a single choice from the Standard Gun List on top. As fast as a normal jetbike tearing ass 24" on the turbo boost, and packing a real Armor Value of 10 (open-topped), yet still can get dropped by a chump with a S4 rifle. They're another one of those units you really have to think about when designing your army. This is the only thing in the Fast Attack section that can serve as a direct tank killer or serious fire support, but are less effective as War Walkers for those roles. However, this is the biggest gun that you can move across the table in the shortest possible time, making them great counterpunchers, flank-grabbers and range-trollers.

*'''Warp Spiders'''
These are probably the most popular of the Eldar fast attack choices, the heavyweight partner to the nimble Hawks. Spiders are jump infantry with a nifty move in the assault phase that lets them pull off stick-and-move attacks. They have tough, rare 3+ armor and are not Fleet. They pack a 12" A2 S6 AP- rifle, which is pretty weird, but can reliably hurt Tyranid monsters, or even tanks if you SHOOT THE WEAK POINT FOR MAXIMUM DAMAGE!!!...Ahem. Yes, deep striking them behind a medium or light tank and dumping shots into the rear armor is quite effective at scoring multiple glancing blows, crippling or killing the target instantly.

The Exarch can get a Spinneret Rifle, a S6 AP1 Assault 1 weapon with Pinning, or a pair of his normal guns (for those who prefer dakka over AP), and can also strap on some power weapons (giving him +1 attack in the bargain) without giving up his shooting attacks. Exarch powers include Surprise Assault, which lets the squad Deep Strike, and Withdraw, which gives his squad Hit and Run which makes them quite competent at... er... hitting and running, which is surprisingly rare in the space elf army.

The strength, and weakness, of the Warp Spider is the second jump. On one hand, it averages about 7" and can quickly move the entire unit out of danger in a hurry, preventing retaliatory shots. On the other hand, the move can be anywhere between 2-12" and has a one in six chance of killing one of your own. Spiders are fun, they can kill other jump troops and bounce around the table, and cause obvious distress in your enemy. However, they are more expensive than Dragons, Avengers, Banshees, and even Hawks by 1 point. In total, a pretty solid choice for a unit, and quite fun to use. Consider an Autarch if you plan to deep strike them as they may fall prey to Pot-smoking-Deep-Striker Syndrome. (Is this legal?)

For some odd reason, there is no Phoenix Lord of the Warp Spiders. You probably wouldn't take it if there was one, but there isn't.

*'''Shadow Specters''' (Forgeworld)
Leave it to forgeworld to prove once again that the Eldar will only die out when they are no longer profitable. This whole new aspect basically function as a squad of mini-fire prisms. What really sets them apart from any other aspect is their access to the Jet Infantry special rule, making the "heavy" nature of their weapons a bad joke. Effectively, they can either cover the table with s6 AP2 shots, or combine them via a 'ghostlight' attack, which can shoot the strength of the weapon up to st10 with the "blast" special rule. These are pretty obviously designed to kill infantry - in the test rules their guns were AP 2 and the glostlight was a lance, but that's gone now; the regular shot is 18 inches S6 AP 3(MEQ killer), and they have can fire a "diffuse" S4 AP5 blast instead. The only weakness is the range, which (in typical Eldar fashion) is only 18 inches unless they use the ghostlight. These bastards still have the benefit of "jump, shoot, jump," which makes them extremely dickish to use, sort of like a group of Fire Dragons that can actually move without the need of a transport. The special powers for the Exarch (who has a better armor save, initiative, weapon skill and ballistic skill), are the Cynosure (which lets you re-roll to hit on a BS5 shot... what a dick) and Withdraw (giving them hit and run). The Exarch can also take a "Prism Lance" which is S7 AP 2 Heavy 2, but doesn't have a diffuse setting. They are expensive at 35 points, but the squad is small, so they are restricted from being too much of a points sink. By Eldar standards, their save is good, at 4+, but you will hardly end up using it, you jump-shoot-jumping dicks. At least, you better not - at T3 and 4+ and 5++ or 4++ save, these guys die fairly easily if shot at, and they are quite expensive.

They were initially heavy support as per the test rules, but have been moved to fast attack. If you haven't read IA 11, the ghostlight is also a blast rather than a lance (and takes 2 models to buff by one degree rather than one), the regular guns got longer reach and a "diffuse" mode, but are AP3 instead of AP 2, and have an invulnerable save. It's mostly an anti-infantry unit now, although a full unit of 6 with a Prism Blaster can hit vehicles at S10 in a pinch, which is helpful.

*'''Wasp Assault Walkers''' (Forgeworld)
A modified war walker that gets a huge jetpack for prancing around, the better to shoot stuff. They cost 10 points more per model and lose the scouts rule, but can move as jetpacks (yes, that includes being able to deepstrike or jump-shoot-jump), also getting have a pseudo-turbo boost, moving faster and getting a 5+ cover save if they forgo shooting or assault moves. Other than that, they are still war walkers - cheapish, relatively fragile, and heavily armed, and come in units of 1-3. Between all that and moving from the heavily contested HS slot to the traditionally poor FA one, they are definitely worth it.

*'''Hornet''' (Forgeworld)
It was good in the test rules, and it's even better in the book. It is fairly cheap at 65 points per model (you can take up to 3 in a unit), for which you get a BS 4 fast skimmer with AV 11/11/10, 2 shuriken cannons already paid for, and star engines. If that's not good enough, it also has the scout rule and the Aerial Assault rule, which lets it fire all guns if it moves at cruising speed (like the ravager). It can also trade its shuriken cannons for the usual Eldar vehicle guns, plus the falcon's pulse lasers, and can take the standard vehicle upgrades. Equipping it with the stock shuriken cannons or scatter lasers are good and relatively cheap combinations, while giving it two pulse lasers will turn it into an incredibly nasty light armor hunter. It is, in short, awesome - one of the best light skimmers in the game, and so, so much better than the old vyper.