Below are all of the Detachment's that are available in the Craftworld Eldar Codex as well as a breakdown on those detachments enhancements.
Ynarri and Harliquins will be in their own sections.
Battle Focus : At the start of each battle round you get a number of Battle Focus tokens to use in that round. It's the typical 2/4/6 for 1000/2000/3000 pts which is fine. Each token can be used at a specific time to activate a special ability for a unit with the Battle Focus ability to do. These abilities are
1. +2" to movement
2. Turn off Overwatch against a unit when you move it/charge
3. Add D6+1" movement to a vehicle when it makes a normal move
4. make 6" Pile In and Consolidation moves
5. make a D6+1" movement for a unit that started the phase in engagment range of an enemy unit when that unit makes a fall back move.
6. make a D6+1" movement for a unit after that unit has been shot at in your opponents shooting phsae.
Each of these can only be done once per phase except for the +2" to movement, so learning how to use these is key. Expect the shutting down of Overwatch to be heavily used.
Disparate Paths : Basically a rule that lets you take Harliquins without breaking any rules because they don't have the Asuryani Faction keyword, don't worry too much about it just keep in mind it basically keeps your Harliquins legal in the game.
Detachment Rules : Martial Grace
Your 'Generic' detachment, this one gives you 1 additional Battle Focus Token each battle round as well as increasing the Agile Movement (+2" to movement) to +3" to movement as well as any time you perform an Agile Maneuver that deals with rolling a D6 for movement you can add one to the result. None of these are bad abilities to have access to.
Enhancements :
Phoenix Gem - First time the bearer (Asuryani model only) dies it gets back up at the end of the phase on a 2+ at full health. Not a bad ability to have if you have the extra points flying around.
Timeless Strategist - This is pretty much a dud because all it does is give you an additional Battle Focus token while the bearer is on the battlefield or in a transport that is on the battlefield. The issue is 6 tokens is kind of too many as you will find yourself some times just not using them all. But if you have nothing else to spend your points on I suppose it's in the same category as the Phoenix Gem.
Gift of Foresight - Once per battle round you can target the bearers unit with the CP reroll for free which is nice enough but this doesn't get around using the CP reroll stratagem once per phase so again it's just ok.
Psychic Destroyer - Asuryani Psyker model only, they get to add 1 to the dmg characteristic of their ranged Psychic weapons. This is actually pretty good, Eldrict Storm or Destroyer are both kind of scarry when you increase their Damage. This is the one I would be taking first out of these 4 Enhancements.
Detachment Rules : Ride the Wind
This is your Biker detachment and man is it good if your planning to take a lot of bikes. First it lets you count any Mounted or Vyper units that you put in reserves count the battle round number as 1 higher than it actually is when you want to bring them in from reserves (so a long winded way to say you can bring them in Battle Round 1). Also this detachment allows you to pick up to 2 Mounted or Vyper units at the end of your opponents fight phase that are not in engagement range of any enemy units and put them back into reserve. A very useful ability, though be careful because some models have huge bases and that can make it hard to drop them back in.
Enhancements :
Firstdrawn Blade - This enhancement gives the bearers unit (mounted chr only) the Scout 9" ability which is pretty damn sweet. Too bad the only chr that you have access to is a Farseer and they can't lead Shining Spears.
Mirage Field - This one gives the bearers unit (again mounted chr only) -1 to hit at all times which is very nice. This is one I would always look at taking as anything to help keep your riders alive is worth looking at.
Seersight Strike - Psychic weapons eqipped by the bearer (mounted psyker model only which... is the only kind of mounted character we have... so I don't get it but ok) get anti-monster and anti-vehicle 2+. Again kind of funny on Eldric Storm... lets see what some super lightning can do eh?
Echoes of Ulthanesh - One of the few ways to get extra CP out of your army, this one you roll 1d6 in your command phase, adding 1 if the bearer is outside your deployment zone, adding an additional 1 if your character is in your opponents deployment zone. On a 5+ gain a CP. Not bad but.... again mounted model only and really if you want CP just take Eldrad.
Detachment Rules : Strands of Fate
Ok, this one has a bit of book keeping to go with it, it's what our Index Detachment turned into. At the start of the game roll 3/6/9 dice based on game size (1000/2000/3000 pts). Then each time you go to use one of the Stratagems from this detachment you can discard one of these Fate Dice if the stratagem your looking to use corresponds with one of those dice to reduce the cost of that stratagem by 1. The table looks like this -
1 - Presentiment of Dread
2 - Forewarned
3 - Unshrouded Truth
4 - Fate Inescapable
5 - Isha's Fury
6 - Psychic Shield
This is a lot better than the old Fate Dice system from a fairness and balance point of view, but it's also a lot less useful. Still free stratagems are never a bad thing and I am sure you will find that you use them as the game continues on.
Enhancements :
Lucid Eye - Asuryani Psyker only, this lets you take one of your Fate Dice in your command phase and add or subtract 1 from the value. This is very useful as it should allow you to make useless dice more useful as the game goes on.
Runes of Warding - Asuryani Psyker only once again, this time it gives the bearers unit a 4+ FNP vs mortal wounds (actually quite useful) as well as giving all Psychic attacks from the unit Devastating Wounds on Critical to wound. The Guardian Death Star will become absolutely devastating with this enhancement.
Stone of Eldritch Fury - Another great Enhancement, this one gives the bearer +12" to their Ranged Psychic weapons which is awsome.
Torc of Morai-Heg - This is your 'increase the cost of CP for stratagems used by your opponent within 12" of the bearer' which is always a great ability to have.
Detachment Rules : Shepherds of the Dead
Your Wraith Construct detachment, this one does a great job at really putting the spot light on your Wraith units as well as keeping your psyker units in the loop. How it does it is pretty simple and strait forward. First, when a friendly psyker unit dies the unit that killed it gets a Vengeful Dread token.... we're Votaan now apparently. When a friendly Wraith Construct attacks an enemy unit with a VD token on it that unit gets +1 to hit and wound which is nice. Also all Asuryani Psyker models gain the Spirit Guides aura which give friendly Wraithblade, Wraithguard, and Wriathlord's within 12" the Battle Focus ability which is huge. Finally Wraithblades and Wraithguard gain the Battleline keyword so your dream of oops all wraith has finally come back!
Enhancements :
Light of Clarity - Just getting it out of the way here, all enhancments in this detachment can only go on Spirit Seer's. This one allows you to pick a friendly Wraith Construct within 12" in your command phase and increase their OC by 1 if Infantry, 3 if Monster. Not bad and can come up at times.
Stave of Kurnous - This one has you picking a friendly Wraith Construct (other than Titanic) within 12" in your command phase and that unit gains Precision when they make a Critical Wound which is cute but not worth going out of your way to make happen.
Rune of Mists - Pick a friendly Wraith Construct within 12" in your command phase (I see a pattern here...) and that unit gains cover while being attacked from outside 18". Could be funny on a Wraith Knight but not all that good really.
Higher Duty - Once per turn when an enemy unit ends a normal, advance, or fall back move within 9" the bearer can make a normal move up to 6". At first this seems bad but Spirit Seer's are just so easy to get ahold of now and this really does help keep him alive. As it's a normal move keep in mind this will allow the Spirit Seer to jump back into a Transport for protection.
Detachment Rules : Defend at all Costs
This one was a surprise in the book and honestly, it's not bad since Guardians and Dire Avengers are good in this book. This one gives your Dire Avenger, Guardian, Support Weapon, and War Walker models +1 to hit rolls while either they are or their target is on an objective. The fact that it is either/or is just terrific.
Enhancements :
Craftworld's Champion - A very simple upgrade, this gives the bearer OC of 5. If you have the points why not?
Ethereal Pathway - In the Deploy Armies step pick up to 2 Guardian units and give them the Infiltrators ability. Another solid upgrade to consider.
Protector of the Paths - While leading a Dire Avengers or Guardian unit, once per battle round you can target that unit with the Overwatch Strat for 0CP. In addition you hit on 5's while shooting overwatch, or hitting on 4's if the unit targeted by the Stratagem is on an Objective. Quite useful if you plan on on keeping a Guardian blob back on your home objective and load it up with some serious firepower. Keep in mind you have a Farseer in the unit for turning a hit into a 6 so you can guarantee that bright lance hits and those Warlocks also hanging out in the unit have auto-hitting super flamers so yeah, don't sleep on this enhancement.
Breath of Vaul - While the bearer is leading a Storm Guardians unit you can reroll the number of attacks made with their flamers and reroll the damage roll of any Guardian Fusion Guns they have. Not a bad enhancement, but not the top of my list of options to choose.
Detachment Rules : Path of the Warrior
The Beil Tan detachment, this one is all about Khaine and Aspect Warriors. It grants them either reroll hit or wound rolls of 1 for just being there which is an amazing detachment rule considering how good so many Aspect Warriors already are. A very solid detachment.
Enhancements :
Aspect of Murder - All of these enhancements can only be taken by Autarchs, though it can be of either flavor. Autarchs are not as good as they used to be but still these can really push them to a different level. This one not only gives the bearers melee weapons Precision (very scary) but it also gives their melee weapons +1 Damage. Absolutely fantastic with some Howling Banshees to become a fantastic blender or nonsense.
Mantle of Wisdom - This one allows the unit the Autarch is leading to get both reroll hits and wounds of 1 instead of one or the other. Toss this on an Autarch with some Dark Reapers and just sit back and watch them shoot whatever they don't like the look of off the table with little additional support needed. Fantastic.
Shimmerstone - Did you want to make your unit more survivable instead of more deadly? This will do it. While the Autarch is leading an Aspect Warrior unit the unit gets -1 to wound from ranged attacks. Maybe those Dark Reapers could just sit out in the open and not have to worry about getting blown away now?
Strategic Savant - There had to be a dud in here somewhere and this is it. Having said that this isn't that bad. It increases the OC of models in the bearers unit by 1 which is fine but no where near as good as the other 3 options here.
Detachment Rules : Skilled Crews
The Grotmas Detachment, this one gives ranged weapons equipped by Aeldari Vehicle models from your army have the [ASSAULT] ability and you can re‑roll Advance rolls made for Aeldari Vehicle Fly units from your army. Not bad all things considering.
Enhancements :
Guiding Presense - This lets the bearer (has to be a psyker character) pick a friendly vehicle within 12" and give them +1 to hit. Not a bad enhancement at all and one I would probably try to take most games.
Harmonisatoin Matrix - A 'generate CP on a 3+ if the bearer or their transport is on an objective' enhancement which is just fine, unless you have extra points just floating around there are better ways to do this.
Spirit Stone of Raelyth - This basically turns the pskyer character that is equipped with it into a Techmarine, gaining lone op within 3" of a vehicle and giving the bearer the ability to heal d3 in the command phase to a vehicle within 3". Yeah, its fine, your probably taking it if the points are there.
Guileful Strategist - This allows you to redeploy up to 3 Aeldari Vehicles at the end of the deployment phase which is always useful. Interesting point is you can do this to Harliquin Vehicles which is kind of spicy when you think about it.
We are going over the different units below, broken down by tier list of how good they are. We have S Tier / A Tier / B Tier / C Tier / and F Tier. Harliquins and Ynari are broken into their own reviews.
Eldrad Ulthran
Wraithlord
Fuegan
Asurmen
Lhykhis
Fire Dragons
Farseer
Warlock Skyrunner
Wave Serpent
War Walker
Windriders
Vyper
Shadow Weaver
Dire Avengers
Jain Zar
Warlock Conclave
Guardian Defenders
Dark Reapers
Rangers
Shroud Runners
Warp Spiders
Falcon
Striking Scorpions
Farseer Skyrunner
Autarch Wayleaper
Spirit Seer
Shining Spears
Wraithguard
Howling Banshees
Storm Guardians
Autarch on foot
Crimson Hunter
Warlock (Single Character on Foot)
D-Cannon Support Weapon
Fire Prism
Vibro Cannon
Wraith Knight with Ghostglaive
Wraith Knight with 2 Ranged Weapons
Baharroth
Wraithblades
Maugan Ra
Avatar of Kaine
Swooping Hawks
Corsair Voidweavers
Corsair Voidscars
Night Spinner
Hemlock Wraith Fighter
These are Units that can almost always be taken in any detachment.
An auto include in almost every unit, the biggest thing I can say about him is he is a lot like Azreal in that he isn't just a CP generator. Many people don't think about the stratagem for 'new orders' in the early game because they are so CP deprived at the start of their turn rounds 1 and 2 that it isn't even a consideration. But the fact that he can help you early game shuffle though those secondaries that you just can't score at that point can really help you start off on the right foot and get you ahead in the secondary game. Also Doom and Mind war are not nothing abilities. Doom gives you +1 to wound against an enemy target which is huge considering we have lost a lot of reroll's in this update. Taking the bright lance from wounding most things on 3's to wounding on 2's is huge. The only detachment I don't think you will see him in Ynarri.
One of the best units in the new Codex, these guys can be set up in many different ways to make them really customize into what roll you want them to have. Add a farseer around them to "Guide" them into a target that they are specialized in (an ability you pick for them at the start of the game giving them reroll's of 1's to hit and wound vs that target) and you can easily get them firing bright lances hitting on 2's rerolling 1's and wounding on 3's (2's again if you Doom that target) rerolling 1's. Or load them out with shuriken cannons and send them out to unload on enemy infantry units. They are just terrific and I think your going to be seeing a LOT of these guys on the table. You all did go out and buy the old 'Start Collecting' set before it went 'out of production' right?
This should be an obvious one but lets go through the numbers. Fuegan is a monster of epic proportions, able to revive himself on death as well as add 6" to the range of Melta Weapons that the Fire Dragons he is going to be leading into battle are going to be using making their Fusion Gun's 18" range and the Exarchs Fire Pike 24" allowing it to be in Melta range out of Deep Strike. All of these are excellent things but lets also point out that Fire Dragons are not that good in melee but Fuegan will tear a 5 man intercessor team apart on his own. Yeah, your going to see this guy and his buddies flying around in a Wave Serpent on a lot of tables.
As of the 3-12 update GW has taken a nerf bat towards our boy and... SWING AND A MISS! That's right, even changing this guy's once per game anti infantry ability from 3+ to 5+ (a change that I saw coming a mile away) he is still the king of 'fuck around and find out'. Sure, it's harder to get 5+'s than 3+'s, but your running him with 5 Dire Avengers in a Falcon and getting rerolls to wound anyways so your still going to be doing a ton of damage to a target then jumping back into that Falcon. And with the Falcon having the Deep Strike ability he is ALWAYS going to be able to jump out do the deed. Even if your opponent is thinking "I will just shoot him with overwatch when he gets out" that is what the battle focus tokens are for preventing . He is going to do his job and there is nothing your opponent can do to prevent it. Got to love him.
If Asurmen is the King then she is the Queen. Her ability to hit a unit in the shooting phase and make all hits of a 5+ count as a critical hit against that target for all other shooting is insane. Have some heavy armor that you just didn't bring enough anti-tank to get through? Suddenly all those Shuriken Cannons are getting Lethal Hits on a 5+, an incredible increase in damage output. Add some sustained hits on top of that while your at it and... well you get the idea. But that's not the only thing she does, she allows her unit to charge after doing a 'Flicker Jump' which is again an insane upgrade to Warp Spiders considering how many melee attacks the Exarch can get. And did I mention she is also incredibly powerful in melee on her own? This chick can do it all.
These guys are your go to answer in any detachment to the question "what can I bring that can easily deal with heavy tanks or monsters?". They have the built in ability to reroll all hits, wounds, and damage against those targets. That gives them some insane levels of reliability in dealing with their target, and that isn't even considering what it looks like if they get Melta Range. And it doesn't really matter what detachment you put them in, they are going to do work if they get within 12" of their target. Absolutely a dangerous unit that will do some work so be sure to protect them with a Wave Serpent. The only real question is "do I take them in squads of 5 or 10?" Myself I think 10 is just overkill, squads of 5 should be more than enough to deal with an enemy tank. If you really want to make sure that squad of 5 can kill a tank just add Fuegan to the squad.
These are Units that are amazing in a few detachments while still being good in other detachments.
A critical unit in many different detachments, this guy brings the support. His ability to 'Guide' against an enemy target each turn is hard to argue with giving +1 to hit and the fact that he still can turn a hit roll into an auto 6 is amazing, making that overwatch your contemplating from the Guardians Bright Lance Platform just all that much better. The only reason I feel he isn't S Teir is he is directly competeing with Eldrad which I feel just edges him out with the free CP generation and the Doom ability.
A cheap unit that is not only our cheapest fast moving scoring unit, the Warlock Skyrunner is also a terrific unit when taking a "Spirit Conclave" force as he can easily keep up with them to keep them hitting on a 3+ while not being anything to worry about if your opponent kills because, once again, he is so cheap. And if your opponent kills him (which you kind of want to happen in that detachment anyways) then the enemy that killed him gets that vengeance token put on them, giving your wraith constructs their bonus to hit back. In the "Seer Council" it just becomes an annoying unit giving you the ability to bounce around the table for cheap. Just a terrific support model for his cost.
Absolutely A Tier, maybe even S Tier, this is our most durable tank which is saying something being it's also our dedicated transport and its ability to run around with good anti-tank firepower. Add to the fact that there are a lot of units that will want to be 'hitching a ride' in one of these bad boys every time you bring them, well, I can confidently say I expect 2 or 3 of these in almost every list.
You are going to want to bring at least one of these in almost every army list you make thanks to their ability to make whatever enemy unit they hit in shooting get an additional point of AP attached against them from other friendly units in the shooting phase. This ability is huge this edition and the fact that the War Walkers have taken a serious nerf to their toughness matters not with this ability now in your back pocket. Add the fact that they have a wide selection of weapons that they can be equipped with and they can be taken in squads of 2 once again, I think this really fills its support piece roll perfectly.
This is a bit of a hard one to rate, I am putting it A Tier because while they did lose a point to their save with this update it is arguable as to if it matters or not since they were not going to survive anyways. They also can no longer be taken in a squad of 9, now dropped to a max of 6 in a squad which hurts. Having said that they are still fast, they can still put out some crazy firepower, and they get full rerolls to hit against their closest unit. In WindRider Host they are absolutely insane, getting access to reroll wound rolls, the ability to come in from reserves turn 1, and the ability to be picked up and put back into reserves, yeah they are amazing in their own detachment. The thing that makes them A Tier to me though is the fact that they are also just really good in any other detachment, able to be taken as a cheap 3 man squad and used to capture objectives early in the game as well as put some firepower into other infiltrating enemy infantry and do serious damage to them without you losing much in retaliation. Just a good, solid, all around performer no matter the detachment.
This guy provides you a cheap objective unit that can really mess with your opponents plans thanks to it's terrific mix of special rules, speed, and weapon options. Think about it, this unit allows you to run up and get secondaries like Engage on All Fronts easily, then put some shots into an enemy powerhouse unit like a Vindicator, do some possible damage with it's bright lance, and even if you don't do any damage that enemy powerhouse unit is now -1 to hit until your next turn. It's a terrific support unit and I think I will always try to take at least 2 each game.
This thing is another terrific support unit that can be easily added into a Guardian Defender squad for extra wounds while also giving you just enough indirect fire support that you can use it to shoot at enemy units hiding on their home objectives or use their 'snare' ability to do some annoying damage to enemy infantry squads trying to run around on the table. At it's current cost its just has the proper level of annoying abilities and extra wounds to give to that super guardian squad your building up.
This is one of those options that I am sure people will be upset about but something people need to understand quickly in this book is that the Phoenix Lords that each aspect has access to must be taken into account when talking about them. And for the Dire Avengers their Phoenix Lord Asurmen (my all time favorite Lord since 4th Edition) is a god among gods no matter the detachment you pick. This means your going to see at least one squad of these guys as well as either a Wave Serpent or Falcon with them. Personally I think the proper load out with Asurmen is a 5 man Dire Avengers squad in a Flacon so your getting to deep strike in, get out, and get full rerolls to wound thanks to the Falcon when Asurmen goes nuts, but a 10 man in a Wave Serpent is just as valid of an option that it's hard to argue with. Taking Asurmen out of the equation they are still a good unit, able to put out quite a lot of str 4 ap-1 1dmg firepower for a pretty cheap cost.
This lady is back and better than ever. She gives the girls she is leading auto advance 6" AND the ability to reroll wound rolls against character units. You read that right, any unit that is being lead by a character is a character unit and with her at the lead a squad of Banshee's are going to absolutely murder that unit. Toss the ability to deny overwatch with a Battle Focus token and the Banshee's ability to advance and charge and suddenly you see that this is a unit that your opponent will have no option other than to try and deal with before they get to where they are going (spoiler, they are going to kick some teeth in). Why is she not S Tier? Well, to be honest she doesn't get a lot of support from some of the detachments in the book and some detachments just don't need her or the Banshees because they are already going to be taking units that can do pretty much the same job.
These guys are have gotten a pretty good glow-up this time around thanks to the fact that they can join Guardians and Guardians are good this edition. They are cheap, add a lot of durability to guardians, and their ability to give the unit they are with -1 to wound if there is also a Farseer there (and lets be honest there will be) and I can see why people are going to be taking a squad of 4 these to make themselves a little Guardian Super Bomb unit. I mean, what's scarier than a guardian squad that can overwatch with 4 D6+2 Str 7 Ap-1 1dmg auto hitting flamers AND a Bright Lance that just happens to be guaranteed to hit? Not much, that's for sure.
These guys are just good once again. They have utility now, with the ability to fade back after being shot at for free now. Add a Farseer and Warlocks if you want more durability from the unit, or add a Farseer and a Support Weapon if you want to add some long range fire support, either way your going to be taking a squad or two of these in almost every detachment. They are just so versatile and useful, especially for their cost. The only real question that is up in the air at the moment is can you attach a Farseer (a chr), a Warlock Conclave (not a chr), and a Support Weapon (not a chr) to one unit? From the way the rules are written out under Support Artillery its sounds like you can which, while that would be one expensive unit, that Guardian Unit with 23 wounds, 8 of them having access to a 4+ Invulnerable, all of them at -1 to wound, before you even get to roll against the Farseer. That's crazy good for Eldar.
The marine killers are back with some nice buffs putting them back in their proper place as a serious threat to anything that is t10 or lower. While they only really see a lot of support from War Host and Aspect Host and they are a bit on the pricy side even running a small squad of 5 and having them pop out of a Falcon to do some guaranteed damage doesn't realistically need that much support from a detachment. The only thing that we really need to point out is their Phoenix Lord Maugan Ra doesn't really buff these guys in any real way.
Rangers are one of those units that are super cheap, they have a reposition ability when an enemy gets close, built in stealth and infiltrate, and did I mention they are just annoying enough with their sniper rifles that they can pose a serious threat to weaker characters hiding in units? Yeah, these boys and girls are bringing all the tactical tools to make your opponents life miserable.
Another strong showing for a Ranger unit. They now give you the ability to remove cover from a target which is a pretty useful ability considering how easy it is to get cover this edition. They are pretty cheap, have a scout move to make sure they are positioned just right for maximum shenanigans early game, and did I mention they also have sniper rifles for helping keep your opponent honest with their characters? Yeah, your probably going to want at least 1 of these in most lists.
I really wanted to put these guys in S tier as well, considering your going to be taking them if your taking Lykhis and lets be honest, if you own Lykhis your taking Lykhis. The real question though is how good are they without her and honestly without her they are still a pretty solid unit. Flicker Jump is much more dangerous than before, your going to lose spiders to the warp to it, but the fact that this gives them a 24" move and their weapons are torrent weapons.... lone op characters are not going to be safe while they are on the table. Add to the fact that again this movement capability helps them be great units for doing secondaries or taking out enemy scouting units that are out there on their own.
Still a go to transport, it works great with so many different Aspect Warriors that your going to see these. It still has the ability to Deep strike (though it can't come in Turn 1 anymore so it's not a drop pod) for making sure you can deliver your firepower where it needs to be before it dies and it still gives whatever gets out the ability to reroll wound rolls on the turn that they do when it shoots at the same target first. It may not be as durable as a Wave Serpent but that's fine, its more of a support transport as it is. I know something I plan to do with it is to have Asurmen and 5 Dire Avengers in one in Deep Strike while I also have 5 Dark Reapers with an Autarch in another one in my back lines. It just makes these amazing damage dealers all the more dangerous.
These guys have the trifecta of front line harassment units. With Stealth, Scout, and Infiltrate you can position them up the table in a way that if you go first you can grantee grabbing a mid field objective, and if you go second they can fall back and get out of harms way. And if they do get caught in a bad position Stealth will help a lot to keep them alive. They are awesome. When dealing with other enemy skirmishing units these guys will typically come up on top now thanks to this. Just don't expect miracles if you send them out to face heavy enemy infantry, these guys really have a single job now and that is to dominate the skirmish game and deal with lighter infantry units.
These are Units that are amazing but only in a few Detachments.
Our favorite skyrunner character has taken a bit of a nerf with this release, losing Fortune (-1 to wound onto a single friendly unit) and getting Misfortune instead (Target an enemy unit, all of it's attacks get -1 to wound). This is the kind of switch that really breaks his value, no longer being a unit that protects our deathstar unit and now being a unit that nerfs our opponents deathstar unit. Unfortunately that requires you to be facing an opponent with a deathstar unit that you really need to nerf and that isn't always the case. On top of that his survivability isn't what it used to be and not every detachment will be able to help him get where he needs to go when he needs to be there to get Misfortune off leaving him here.
Not nearly as good as he used to be now that lost Lone Operative, he can only join Swooping Hawks or Warp Spiders now and between the 2 the only value that could be found from him is in Warp Spiders. Having said that there are not a lot of stratagems that his ability can help with the Warp Spiders to make them good enough to really justify his cost, though if you were going Warp Spider heavy and already have taken Lhykhis for one of the units then there is an argument there that he does add good melee capabilities to them.
While they have gotten a nice buff in getting Lone Op within 3" of another wraith unit, this isn't the biggest deal due to the fact that it's not that hard to get within 12" of the Spirit Seer and put a few shots into them killing them. Also the units that the Spirit Seer is running around with typically want to get into melee to take advantage of their close combat capabilities and the Seer just doesn't want to get consolidated into if something go's wrong. Having said that in the Wraith Detachment the Spirit Seer is still going to be taken quite often, and they really are perfectly fine for their job and they are an improvement over the index version.
This is one of those choices that feel bad to me. At their current cost they are in that weird position that they are super strong, able to fly through ruins with no issues (so they have 9th edition fly which is huge) and have great anti-tank / anti-monster capabilities. But the issue is they will fly in, do some serious damage, then they are going to die. They are good in a few detachments like Aspect Host or Wildwind Host where I think these guys are S Tier good, and will always be seen in those detachments, but in most other detachments they just won't see enough support to make them work well at their cost and really I doubt you will be able to find the points to put them in those detachments.
I think these are solid for what they are thanks to the D-Scythe. They are reasonably tough and can put out quite a lot of firepower depending on their loadout. I can see players in a lot of detachments taking a Wave Serpent and a squad of these with D-Scythes just for grabbing and holding an objective for a few turns. Add in their ability to fall back and shoot and yeah, it should be obvious how they work. And even if you take the Wraithcannon loadout they are a big enough of a threat that your opponent has to watch out for them coming in from reserves with a spirit seer and unloading onto an enemy vehicle on a flank. And in the Spirit Host detachment they are battle line, that's very cool.
These girls excel in Aspect Host and are pretty good in other detachments on their own, and if you add Jain Zar in with them (which you are going to do) they can really catch some opponents off guard. They have been hit with just a pinch of 'Made better but worse' salt with the fact that they hit on 2's and wound on 3's vs Infantry now but at the same time have fewer attacks than before so all of that turns into a bit of a wash vs your normal space marines. Where they start to really get better than before is against targets like Terminators and Custodes, units that they used to wound on 5's or 6's they are now suddenly wounding on 3's making them what they should have always been, an elite unit hunter than can pounce out of no where and do some real damage to a unit that is typically seen as a very durable unit. But if your hunting regular marines you probably would rather have Striking Scorpions.
These guys now give us our Sticky Objectives which is nice, though unfortunately there are quite a few detachments that give you access to that ability for other units so that isn't a dedicated reason to always take them. In the Guardian Battlehost I could see taking 2 of these easy. And even outside that detachment there are a few detachments that wouldn't mind these guys at their cost considering they also are battle line and have a 5+ invulnerable thanks to their serpents shield. And who knows, maybe there is a world out there where someone is going to take 6 squads of these guys and just flood the board with 5+ invulnerable bodies that are cheap to try and just get objectives and see how it turns out.
The usefulness of this guy is really going to come down to what units you are taking and are you taking a Phoenix Lord for that unit or not already? In some examples, like Striking Scorpions or Dark Reapers, there is a very real argument that you could make as to why you would want to take this guy and have him join them. In others its more of a downgrade, I would rather have Jain Zar's ability to auto advance 6 than his ability to reroll advance rolls. But having said that if you already have a squad with Jain Zar and have another unit that needs a leader then I can easily see him sliding in. And that's his real problem, he isn't an alternative to Phoenix Lords like he should be. Instead he is an after thought if your taking multiple aspect warriors of the same type. For this reason alone I don't think you will see him in many lists. Having said that I would rather pick him than Maugen Ra for Dark Reapers.
Ok here me out, I know I am putting a flyer in a location other than F Tier which feels wrong, this is 10th edition after all. But lets look at this thing, in the Aspect Warrior Detachment it can actually really shine brightly. It gets +1 to hit and wound against flyers which, honestly, there are a lot of them running around out there. All those Sanguinary Guard, Gargoyles, and Demon Princes with Wings are just going to want to try to avoid this guy which, considering how fast they move and how they work that isn't the easiest thing to do. If you give it rerolls 1 to hit with lethal/sustained hits it can do a lot of work. Unfortunately I think he is only good in that one detachment which is why he is B Tier, but man in that one detachment this guy can bring the pain, especially if you get good at using aircraft.
These are units that are only good in a few detachments but there are better units that can do the same job.
Kind of a lame duck, at the moment his only real claim to fame is his ability to take an enhancement to help his unit if he is joining a unit that either has an Epic Hero already attached and as such can not take an enhancement or in a unit that has a Farseer that already has a different enhancement. Other than that his ability to subtract 2 from enemy units that charge his unit is kind of just ok, but is it worth putting even more points into that guardian squad that is hiding back holding your home objective? I doubt it.
Yeah, I know this seems like a weird place for a unit with such a powerful weapon, but really lets look at this guy. It's more fragile that it used to be, indirect fire still kind of sucks for a gun that only gets D3 shots, and even if it hits and wounds its still not doing a lot of damage. There is an argument that you can put it in a unit of guardians with a Farseer to make sure one of it's hits become D6+2 Dev Wounds with at least 1 of it's shots each time it's such an expensive unit that it's going to become a quick target for your opponent to want to wipe out. Personally I would have loved to see it lose Dev Wounds and be much cheaper though.
Man has this unit fallen from grace. In detachments that want to be fast and aggressive this guy just doesn't have a lot of synergy. It also only has 1 way to reactively move now, which is the battle focus ability 'Fade Back'. Add in that when you are link firing this guys big gun it's losing half of the number of shots that it can put out and I think it just ends up being ok. There are no detachments that really help it out, though if you look at it another way that means the unit itself is pretty much always going to just work the way it is and you don't have to worry about setting up a support system to help make it more effective. At 160 pts it just doesn't really match up with other options that you can take to do it's job. I mean, just look at the Wraith Lord. Having said that if you own them they can still do their job, they are not useless on the table.
This guy is just all right for his cost. Unfortunately it requires direct line of site and lining 3 of them up to really pull off their ability consistently isn't that easy. They do work ok in the Guardian detachment and against some armies (Custodies for example) they are going to really shine. But the requirements to make them work is just a little too much to choose them as an effective unit. I will say that I think this is better than the D-Cannon though.
Man I love this model, I really wish he was a bit better. First we have to point out that if your taking this guy the weapon loadouts don't matter, your taking the shield for the 4+ invulnerable save and -1 to damage. At its current cost though the only detachment I can see taking him in is the Wraith Host detachment and even then he only gets a few units/stratagems that can help him out.
The biggest issue here is if your taking this version without the shield it's only ok for what it brings to the table and at that point it is actually pretty easy to harm this guy. With the shield your fire output is very low. Just too expensive for their firepower and no real support in any detachment.
My how this fiend has fallen. He ends up here for a few reasons, the biggest one being that swooping hawks are not that good at the moment needing Baharroth to reach the levels they previously were at, but more importantly he is really only good in 1 detachment, the Warhost. Granted in the Warhost he is pretty good, able to use fire and fade to have them drop down near a wall, fire, then hide behind said wall so they can jump back up into the sky to do it all again next turn. But outside of Warhost I think there are better units to do what he is trying to do for cheaper.
These guys have been hit by a few nerfs that really hurt them now. The loss of toughness hurts, and the fact that they are only able to be taken in squads of 5 now really hurts. Add to the fact that they want a Spirit Seer near them to get the bonuses to hit and sustained hits in melee but that they can't really protect said Spirit Seer from getting bum rushed and crushed... it just feels bad. Having said that they are still very tough for an Eldar unit, and with the extra speed they can get from the Spirit Conclave I can see them still getting used. It's just going to take a seasoned player to really get the most out of them while protecting their supporting character. Too bad we don't have a durable psychic character to have run around with them (no the Hemlock Wraith Fighter doesn't count). Also I must say the argument between Axe and Shield vs Swords is a very old one that continues to this day. I still say go with the Shield and aim for a chance to survive.
Ok, so first I will say he is defiantly better than he used to be. But lets look at him honestly, unless your taking him with Dark Reapers in a Falcon he isn't going to be doing much on his own. His 2 abilities are both questionable, though the Harvester of Souls ability is kind of funny, giving his supped up Shuriken Cannon explosive rounds basically. He also does give Dark Reapers access to a melee attack worth talking about, able to fend off against enemy skirmish units just fine on his own in melee. At his current cost though he is doubling what a Reaper squad would cost on it's own, and then you add the Falcon into the equation and we are talking about a unit that is running you 320 pts. Is that expensive? Not excessively so, but the question you have to ask yourself is will he be adding enough damage to the unit to justify that 100 points? Having said that his model is absolutely awesome so you should still own one and if you also have him in the Aspect Host detachment, spend the CP to give his unit Sustained Hits, and have Lhykhis running around giving him critical hits on a 5+... yeah it is a lot of set up but he could pop off and do some serious damage.
I cry tears of molten pain over this. Sure, he is powerful. Sure, he can do a lot of damage. But what is his real weakness? He is venerable to Devastating Wounds, it is kind of hard to move him around, he lost a point of toughness, and you no longer have access to Fortune to give him -1 to wound. This leaves him in the awkward position of, in the hands of a good player, being a unit that will probably be able to get a single good charge off, kill whatever he charges, then he is going to get blown away by some random infantry unit with the Grenades Strat followed up by some tank driving by and doing Tank Shock. He needs a Feel no pain, even a 5+ only vs mortals would be fine. A C'Tan he is not.
These guys are not the Swooping Hawks your used to seeing up until this point. They are fine in Aspect Host and War Host but other than that they don't really do much on their own. For their cost they just are not going to be doing all that much damage, and add to the fact that you can't use their grenade ability and the grenade strat at the same time, unless you are just trying to dog pile grenades onto a target to overload it with mortal wounds I don't see a real reason to take these guys unless your just looking for a deep strike annoyance unit.
These units suck no matter where you put them, be it due to their rules not working well or they are missing keywords leading to them just not doing the job.
These guys are just not that great as they don't have access to "Battle Focus" which just sucks. They also don't have any detachment that really benefits them. What they are trying to do is capture objectives early game and gets to reroll hits against enemy units on objectives, but unfortunately they don't have the power to actually punch through what they hit. There are just better choices that can do that job.
Very expensive for what they do considering they are not battle line, these guys just don't fill any roll that anything else in the book can't do better for less cost. These guys are at the bottom of the F Tier.
Wow does this thing suck now. It has gotten nerfed in so many different ways. It's not a good artillery piece, it's not a good direct fire unit, and it's special rule is really only useful if you play in a very infantry heavy meta that brings powerful elite infantry that don't move fast like Death Guard or Terminators. I am sure there is someone out there who will make this work well, but it won't be me. I hope in 11th Edition GW just fixes Indirect Fire.
GW really hasn't gotten a grip on this thing since 8th edition. It still hit's on 4's, has no good way to buff it's shooting beyond the Farseer's guide ability, and the 1 detachment you would think it would work in (the Spirit Conclave) its only synergy is with Vengeful Dead tokens. Sure, when it gets killed the rest of the Conclave get's +1 to hit and wound but there are cheaper ways to do that if that's what your wanting this for. This is all a shame, these are very nice models but much like Artillery and Fortifications, Aircraft are just in a limbo position where no one at GW seems to know how to balance them so that we can use them and instead GW just makes them bad or costs too much to be considered in all but the fluffiest of fluffy lists.