9th Edition Faction Focus: Craftworld Eldar

9th edition is on the way, and with it a whole raft of changes to the factions of Warhammer 40,000. With the Munitorum Field Manual out in the wild and the Faction FAQs released, now’s a good time to start taking a look at what’s changed for all of our favourite armies. First up, Boon talks Craftworlds.

The major reveals have hit the street and the picture of 9th is really starting to come into focus. The 9th ed core rules gave us a view at how individual units may change and how they might play and now with the points reveals we’ll get a better feel for how the army will play and what its strengths and weaknesses will be. I’m going to start out by highlighting some of the winners and losers in each force organization slot, discuss the overall takeaways of the army, theorize how they might play at the start of 9th, and then propose a couple of list ideas moving forward. I will say that I do not have any special insights into the upcoming GT mission pack – however I will draw certain inferences from the Eternal War missions that I believe will hold true, including top-of-turn scoring, strategic reserve implications, and five round limits. Finally, I’m not going to focus on specific points – that’s out there and you’ve probably seen it. Instead I’m going to talk in relative tems and discuss what I think they imply.

The Roster Breakdown

Headquarters

In terms of the army, the HQ units are a real bright spot. The average increase across the Eldar leadership was 8.1% with special characters increasing above average around 9.4%. Points-wise, the winners here are the core heroes; the Farseer, Farseer Skyrunner, Warlock Skyrunner, the Winged Autarch, and Autarch Skyrunner, all of whom received increases under 5%. The Skyrunners benefit from a slight point savings in twin shuriken catapults having been zeroed out across the roster. On the other end, Prince Yriel received the single biggest percentage increase at 21% followed by Irillyth, the Wraithseer, and the on-foot Warlock Conclave at around 15%.

In terms of the game impact of these changes – I think the Farseer Skyrunner is far and away the winner amongst the Eldar HQs. The model was a staple in 8th edition competitive Eldar lists for its massive versatility, speed, and capability to buff, and none of this will change under the new edition, so to escape nearly unscathed is a small miracle. Similarly, the Warlock Skyrunner also remains relatively untouched. I suspect that HQs across the game received lower points increases for a few reasons, but one of them has to do with the Look Out, Sir rule addition that will ultimately make them more vulnerable. Given the speed of the Farseer and Warlock Skyrunners, they should be easily able to keep pace or maintain a position to be reliably kept from getting themselves plucked out.

On the other hand, despite the low increases, the Autarchs are not a clear winner here. It’s possible that they may fill niche roles in certain, purpose built armies – but given the existence of alternative abilities like Expert Crafters, Guide, or other faction’s CP regeneration capabilities (Drukhari, Ynnari, and the Harlequins all have access to better and more useful capabilities) and the lack of any real combat prowess for a hero unit, it’s not clear to me that the Autarch serves a reliable purpose in the army at this time, which also makes the increase on Yriel so perplexing.

None of the Eldar special characters have seen much play in late 8th edition – many were overcosted, lacked any kind of staying power, or are just simply not worth the trade-off for a Farseer/Warlock and their buffing abilities. The exception is Eldrad and Asurmen but both required building around, and in the case of Eldrad, sacrificing superior detachment traits to take Ulthwe traits or none at all – I’m really hoping he picks up Supreme Commander for that reason. The faction restriction was manageable in 8th, but with 9th edition’s changes to CP and detachment selection I suspect Eldrad’s time has come to a temporary end. Asurmen, however, I believe will still find play in lists that want to run Dire Avengers in transports, whether Falcons or Wave Serpents.

For me, the Avatar and Irillyth are both intriguing. The former received a below-average increase, and while he’s still expensive at 235 points, his biggest limitation was the sheer lack of mobility. The shrinking board and increased capability of monster units to engage units above ground have really given this guy new life, but I’m still on the fence given the relatively underwhelming combat capability and the sheer proliferation of invulnerable saves and the types of weapons that just love to crush things like a big bad. Still I’ll keep my eye on him as the edition shakes out in the early going. Irillyth is different. He received a large increase taking him to 150 – a lot for an Eldar HQ. That said, he’s fairly capable with great range, mobility, relative durability for an Eldar HQ, and can even pack a bit of a punch in combat – however, it’s his morale implications that intrigue me. I don’t have a good feel for the morale and coherency implications of this edition just yet, but if it proves to be significant, Irillyth could be a niche play.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that I think the Warlock Conclave on bikes are a really interesting, potentially powerful choice in this edition – especially if the Smite rules survive a day one FAQ – but I have a reflexive dislike for large units of models that all look the exact same, plus the weakening of FLY and the inability to fall back and shoot or cast powers reduces some of the potential they had in 8th, so I’ll leave it at that.

Oh buddy – put your game face on and start getting those warm up tosses in. Credit: Boon

Troops

Well what’s to say about the Eldar troops that hasn’t already been said in 8th edition? Eldar troops have long felt like a tax – I have always personally been a fan of Dire Avengers and ran them throughout 8th, they got a real nice boost following Psychic Awakening and following the 9th ed changes, they’ve actually fared best of all the options. For that reason let’s call them a Winner – but let’s not kid ourselves, there are no winners in the Eldar troops slot.

Guardian Defenders had strong utility for being able to tank and be relatively difficult to shift board presence for their T3, 5+ profile – much of that hinged on buffing, stratagems, and allocating wounds appropriately. However, with the changes to wound allocation, this becomes much less effective, and the combined points increases, for both the platforms and Guardians, and the risks from Blast put these solidly in the loser category. Then there is the Storm Guardians – a unit that has never made sense to me from a fluff or gameplay standpoint. If you forgot about them don’t worry about it – now that they’re 9pts for a Guardsman defensive profile you can forget that I even mentioned them. Which leaves us with the Rangers – a super cool unit that under-performs mightily and received a staggering 25% increase. At various points in 8th they were cheap, utility objective sitters that were hard to shift due to their modifiers and cover advantages. As 8th wore on, changes to Dire Avengers shifted that role to them, and the proliferation of re-rolls negated much of their modifier advantage. Now that modifiers have been capped and the board space has been shrunk, I can’t see you wanting to bring these guys in your list but on the plus side, maybe GW will figure out how to fix the drooping or snapped off barrels by the time these guys are ready to hit the table again.

If you’re taking troops you’re very likely taking Dire Avengers (which brings Asurmen back to the conversation).

Real nice mob you have here, sure would be a shame if some kind of Blast were to come along and ruin it. Credit:Boon

Elites

Oh boy, if Eldar Troops were in rough spot in 8th edition then Eldar Elites were Edgar Allen Poe face down in a gutter. The good news is that the Wraith units may fill a desperately needed spot in the Eldar line-up – durable, hard-hitting combat units. The bad news is that with 9th edition GW has finally finished what the Ynarri started and killed Biel-Tan. Overall the category saw a 22% increase, the largest of any force organization slot in the Eldar roster.

In terms of the Wraithguard, the Wraithcannon equipped units received a slightly below game average and well below category average increase of 15% with the Wraithblades both receiving a ~14% bump.The below average increase on these units is important as the early implications of 9th edition and top of turn scoring is that units will need to be durable and hard-hitting to force opponents off objectives and then maintain their own position through the opponent’s turn. Given the Wraithblades status as Infantry they can take advantage of terrain while their T6 and the capability to gain a 4++ are a breath of fresh air for the ghostly bois. The Wraithcannon Wraithguard I’m less excited about – they suffer in that their low volume of fire and short range can be rapidly negated by priority target invulnerable saves – however, they are still durable and given the expectation of proliferating vehicles, you might consider them as a worthwhile inclusion. Unfortunately the D-Scythe Wraithgaurd did not similarly benefit as they received a 30% bump. It’s not clear what would justify the increase for these guys over the other Wraith units but one thing is solidly clear – they remain on my backlog shelf for the time being.

Which takes me to the Fire Dragons and the rest of the Aspects. Ironically, the Fire Dragons received the lowest increase of all the Elites at a mere 4.5% – however, they were always over-costed for their suicide squad tendency. In a similar fashion to the Wraithguard their low volume of high-quality shots ran the risk of doing nothing at all, but unlike the Wraithguard they don’t have the durability to take a second shot. They aren’t a loser, but they aren’t going to tear it up either. Unfortunately, the remaining options are solid losers – and I’m actually deeply disappointed by this. The two units that I was most excited to see how they fared with the points revamp, Howling Banshees and Striking Scorpions, inexplicably received staggering 36% and 44% point increases respectively. Setting aside for a moment that they were already rarely seen and I’ve personally never seen them at a tournament table, there is nothing particularly exciting about them given the rules for combat and assault. The biggest advantage of the Banshees was their capability to deny overwatch, which has been largely stripped for everything that’s not aquatic, since their massive speed advantage only mattered if they could make it count – which they rarely could. None of that has changed – great models though.

Shadow Spectres, the one bright spot in the Eldar Elite slots in 8th, have been stripped of a lot of their advantages with the modifier cap being the biggest piece. Previously they were highly flexible, hard-hitting at range, with a strong combat deterrent – and durable beyond belief buffed or in cover, relying on that modifier to keep them alive. That began to change with the re-rolls proliferation late in 8th – they were never cheap and at T3, they fold quickly once you drew a bead on them. Following the significant points increase and the cap to their modifier, I think it’s safe to say they’re dead Jim.

The time of the Ghostly Bois is (maybe) upon us. Credit: Boon

Fast Attack

Now that we’ve waded through the weakest slots in the Eldar roster the bright shining light of the Eldar’s traditionally strong slots are ahead of us. The Fast Attack slot saw an average 18% increase, again falling disproportionately on the Aspect units. However, Shining Spears remain a strong selection – receiving a moderate 16.7% increase, they are every bit as viable as they were in 8th edition. These guys have excelled over the last few years as rapid-strike, heavy hitters that became a nightmare in the enemy’s ranks if they could tie up a unit. However, those days are gone. The truth is that unless they received heavy psyker support, they were still a fragile unit that could and would fold quickly because your opponent would be forced to deal with them. With the changes to assault, tri-pointing, etc – Spears are going to see a shift to counter-assault and objective bullying – gone are the days of launching them out there and forcing the opponent to figure out how to handle them while the rest of your army blasts away from a far. Late in the edition they were wonderful in pairs – but with the points increases its not actually clear to me that the role they’ll play or the costs justify a second set – but I’m prepared to be hilariously wrong here.

A unit that I’ve been big on since the Psychic Awakening, the Forge World Hornets received a 30% hike – but at 15 points I’m not actually concerned with that. Expert Crafters has done a ton for these low profile, non-degrading, high-volume, high-quality, long-range shooting little cuties. There’s more adjectives I could lob their way but what I will say is that the vehicle/heavy weapon change combined with Expert Crafters should put these right back in your consideration set. Oh yeah, as of the FAQ if you do pay for the 5 points on the Crystal Targeting Matrix you can advance them up to 24″ giving you a -1 to be hit and still shoot, albeit with a -1 of your own… but that’s why you take Expert Crafters. I’m not sold on the CTM – given their range, speed, and ease of hiding, I’m not actually sure it’s warranted but time will tell.

Vypers received an extremely modest point adjustment and are an intriguing choice. The heavy weapon change is a huge boost for them and I think you may begin to see these on the table again – and you should. Despite being some of the oldest models in the range, they remain one of my favorites – for my part though, I feel like I’m trading up with the Hornet as previously discussed from both a firepower and versatility standpoint. The other jetbikes, Windriders, also received a big benefit from the heavy change – and in a Saim-Hann detachment, an additional little boost to advancing and shooting (FAQ – I note the Vyper receives this as well). However, unlike their bigger cousins, the Windriders received a pretty substantial points boost driven mostly by the scatter laser increase that when combined with their frailty makes them a tough pick – frankly if you want a Jetbike, take the Vyper. It’s both cool and good now.

I’ve never really cared for Wasp Assault Walkers – so I’ll have to let you make your own decisions – my take here is “why not just take War Walkers?”

Finally, sigh, the Swooping Hawks and Warp Spiders. Both saw above average increases and I don’t really see a core rules change that’s going to help them out significantly – the Swooping Hawks had some niche play now and again, and may very well have a role with the GT mission set yet, but I’m dubious. As for the Warp Spiders…. they’re a far cry from the day I made a poor Tyranid player rage quit as they jumped out of LoS everytime he targeted them with his Flying Hive Tyrants all those years ago. I think you can safely pass here, and hope they get cool new models to match some cool new rules later in 9th.

Heavy Support

I’m trying to remember an edition where this wasn’t the most crowded slot in the army. I guess 8th because of the Spearhead, but it just seems like this is where you want to live as a Craftworlder. Overall the heavy support slot saw an about average increase of 18% across the various options.

I will say the second most disappointing thing after Banshees/Scorpions occurred unexpectedly – I was all geared up to think that Vibro Cannons, something I have enjoyed immensely late in this edition, were still going to be just fine with their significant increase in points. After all, they’re vehicles and can move/shoot without penalty! Then I realized that the modifier change didn’t just impact the to-hit rolls but to-wound as well and then reality came crashing back in. I did enjoy the chipper nature of the FAQ-writers take on this though, in the event that I run into a meta filled to the brim with -1 to-wound they’ll be right back in the list. As to the other support weapons, and as Shania stated so eloquently, they don’t impress me much. Both picked up Blast, both are non-LoS, and in the case of the D-Cannons the board shrinking does play to their favor given the movement change, but I think both weapons are still too expensive (the Shadow Weaver took a 35% increase – me thinks GW is really over-valuing non-LOS and Blast in this case).

The Night Spinner took a big increase at nearly 30% and while the Fire Prism and Warp Hunter didn’t increase nearly so much, both were already a little bit too rich for my blood – I’m going to find it difficult to justify bringing any of these three units in the early going. But I am a bit on the fence – I do think the Night Spinner still has play and I know it’s Wings’ special hipster pick, but for my part I’d rather spend those points elsewhere and also free up the slot for…

The Falcon! The classic, the golden oldie, the OG Eldar battle tank. This thing is like a La-Z-Boy; worn down, really showing its age, but it is just the perfect fit. First manufactured in the waning years of the Clinton administration it has been the basis of every Eldar tank since and has become synonymous with the Eldar army image. It also happens to be back since Chapter Approved 2019 and Psychic Awakening. Cheap, can transport objective sitters, and packs some good firepower which is boosted by Expert Crafters – it received a below average increase of just under 13%. If I’m running Craftworlds these are going to be a staple of my lists.

The Wraithlord received a disappointing increase at 25%, which was not meaningfully offset by the weapon options which is a shame because I really thought this was their time. They’re not bad by any means but I struggle to identify why I wouldn’t just take a Wraithseer that brings more to the equation in terms of durability, combat and support at almost the same cost (give him a Wraithcannon) or War Walkers that are just outright more shooty. The other problem is that he’s occupying the ever valuable Heavy Support slot.

Speaking of which – War Walkers. I think these guys are solid winners coming in at a mere 5 point increase (14%) and gaining the ability to move and shoot without penalty and Expert Crafters – despite the increase on the Starcannons I think these are the way to go, especially early in the edition when I expect the Grey Knights and Custodes to be absolutely everywhere. However, I will definitely be magnetizing because the Aeldari Missile Launcher does provide a lot of flexibility and picked up Blast on the frag variant without any additional cost. Honestly, I think the toughest decision with these guys is how many to put in a single unit – they make a real nice Forewarned target but they will trade efficiency in Expert Crafters and survivability. 

Finally we have the first unit I ever bought some 23 years ago. Dark Reapers – they will always have a special place in my heart and I think they’ve made it through the points adjustment in good standing with a 13% increase (though the Tempest Launcher got a massive increase). However, I don’t think they’re well situated in the early going of 9th edition – their biggest advantage and defense has been mitigated by the modifier cap, and I’m thinking that the speed of the game in terms of the capability to reach combat is going to make it difficult for them. I’m prepared to be wrong here, I do like them, but I’d wait to see how the meta starts to shake out before I brought them. That said, if I do bring them, I’m liking 5-man squads – under the Blast cap and can neatly tuck away in a Falcon or Wave Serpent with a character.

You did good boys – take a breather. Credit: Boon

Flyers

I will admit that I was never big on Flyer spam. In fact, I hated it and never played it. Call me a snob, purist, or a hipster but I’ve never gravitated to the easy/abusive list to play and have always preferred to either find a certain niche in the meta or tried to make the best of a poor hand at the table (I never played busted Ynnari competitively either). All that said, I’ve used an Air Wing, I’ve used all of the Eldar jets, I haven’t thought they were good since October, and I don’t think they are good now. However, they ARE fun (in reasonable numbers).

So first off, the Air Wing detachment is dead and that means you can’t overwhelm the opponent with Flyers – Aeldari probably killed it which is another notch on our belt and a feather in our cap, let’s move on. The problem I have here is that besides overwhelming an opponent and denying movement, flyer spam relied on abusing hit modifiers – but hit modifiers GW addressed by a) proliferating full re-rolls, and then b) releasing Space Marines. You could certainly make flyer spam work afterwards, but it dropped noticeably in potential even with the offsetting balancing of Chapter Approved 2019 and Psychic Awakening. So by the time GW decided that capping modifiers was the thing to do, the flyer spam lists were already on the sharp decline and Alaitoc almost forgotten.

On paper they are still good – the Crimson Hunter Exarch especially has some nice benefits from Psychic Awakening, and both Crimson Hunters benefit mightily from the Heavy change. However, they are relatively easy to knock down when modifiers can’t save them – and a degraded Crimson Hunter isn’t frankly all that scary. The board space has shrunk their ability to distance and while they can fly off into strategic reserves and come back on – they also are only providing your army support in half the turns they do so. Ah ha! But what if I Fire and Fade myself into strategic reserves you say. Well, it’s a brilliant idea, but GW surprisingly thought of it too and have FAQ’d Fire & Fade appropriately to exclude AIRCRAFT.

All this is to say that before you even look at the increases, which will come to 180 (CH), 200-210 (CHE), and 230 (Hemlock) for models that you cannot hide but might be able to kamikaze out of deepstrike, do you think there are better uses for those points? Because I do.

Dedicated Tra… The Wave Serpent

This is a surprise to me. At a net increase of only 11 points (~8%) the Wave Serpent is an unexpected winner. It’s the most durable vehicle in the roster which is going to be big in the early going of 9th and its large carrying capacity means that those slow moving Wraithguard/blades that I mentioned earlier might have a chariot to take them where they need to be. Honestly, this is going to be a list dependent choice – in my view you have the Falcon for increased output, or the Wave Serpent for increased durability and transport – I think if you’re taking Wraithblades, you’re spending your points on these and Serpent Spam may make a small comeback.

Lords of War

I’m not going to spend very much time here – the Wraithknight got a points increase and that’s probably all you need to know – it has a bevy of unaddressed issues that keep it from being a top hitter in the army and now it’s harder to take in your list, and the Obscured addition has done it no favors. The other Lords of War are very much a niche play – take them all for fun and because you like the models or super destroying units, but don’t take them because they’re competitive – they aren’t.

Just not these ghostly bois… they know what they did. Credit: Boon

Putting It All Together

I don’t think it’s fair to call Craftworlds losers so far in 9th edition – that title is solidly reserved for Drukhari within the Aeldari keyword, or Genestealer Cults without. But if you’re feeling that overwhelming sense of disappointment you’re not alone. The Craftworld codex has been very much a case of the rich getting richer and the poor being forgotten entirely throughout 8th edition, and nothing has largely changed that with the core rules or the points reveals. The same units that have been badly in need of a boost, namely most of the Aspect/Aspect-related units, still badly need a boost. The units that have been workhorses are still the workhorses. All this really means is that a faction that is meant to be highly dynamic, precise, and fun to play often just feels boring and very static. However, I think expectations should be managed a bit, and there are certainly reasons to hope for good things for Craftworlds in 9th.

First, the points reveals were never going to fix the problems with the poor-performing Craftworld units because the problem isn’t really in the points but the unit rules themselves and the internal balance of the codex. With few exceptions (Wraithlords), the points would not have significantly changed how this army played. So if you find yourself thinking, “Why did they increase the points like this on [Banshees, Scorpions, Spiders, Hawks, etc]?” try to keep some perspective in that your army probably didn’t use them before – it’s not a loss. With a couple of exceptions, points increases did winnow down the Craftworld options, and there is some reason to be disappointed. Late edition winners like the Night Spinner or Vibro Cannons have taken a hit from the core rules or the points adjustments (man is Blast + non-LOS expensive) but in the case of the Spinner that’s also occurred across the game with all similar such units. I’ll admit that the Vibro Cannons hurt, personally, but I’ll move on because there are reasons to hope!

My number one reason for hope is that GW has shown a good faith interest in the competitive community through engagement, listening to feedback, and addressing serious concerns. Sure there have been missteps, but all-in-all GW has earned back a lot of the trust they had lost a decade ago. Second, and maybe it’s just me, but I feel like GW has increasingly hinted at big things for Eldar in this edition, not a moment to soon mind you given their literally ancient line. Jain Zar and the Banshees were a first, but those models are fantastic and if the rest of the line gets a similar level of effort I’ll be dropping off wheelbarrows of cash at GW HQ. Finally, the changes to Heavy weapons have benefited a wide swathe of Eldar units and the points adjustments have opened up or maintained different unit possibilities that were previously challenged. War Walkers, Vypers, Hornets, Falcons, Wraithguard – some real iconic Eldar units that I think will find their way onto the table again.

In terms of the competitive play Craftworlds have come to rely on lower amounts of CP, and 9th has really boosted the faction here-  they will find themselves with more points on average due to the 1CP/round than ever in 8th where double battalion lists were difficult to manage (unless early-Ynnari). I think what you’ll see is a lot of single Battallion or Battallion + Spearhead lists, but there’s reason enough to think that Outriders could still be big. I cannot fathom a need for Vanguard, but I’m hopeful that the old man, Eldrad himself, picks up Supreme Commander which would be a nice little bump in incentive to bring him.

Eldar will still rely on their mobility, highly accurate platform based weapon fire (tanks), and some hard-hitting combat units. However, the style will change – I think they’ll play a bit less aggressive (Spears) and will have to be more picky in choosing their fights. Being able to maneuver and focus fire I think will be key for this army and it will not be as forgiving to an opponent’s early scoring as it has been in 8th edition. Here I think tanks being able to shoot in combat is going to be important – because I think they’re going to need to push forward more often. However, bear in mind that the ridiculous and ill-considered “if it fits it sits” ITC rule that often kept their large hulls with small bases from utilizing the terrain no longer applies here – they fly and they will need to use that.

The Role of Mixed Armies

All that said, given the changes to the roster, the core rules, and despite the thrust of 9th edition, I think souped detachments of Craftworlds are going to be much more common. If we ignore the dark days of the Ynnari abuse, Craftworlds have often formed the basis to bring Harlequins or Drukhari, and occasionally Ynnari (I love those Wraithseers). In this brave new edition, Drukhari especially seem to have taken a real back seat in the Aeldari lineup with only one or two viable builds (my first impression) – Prophets of Flesh with Grotesques and Talos are intriguing given the speed of the game and the nice boosts they get because of it, but I think they’re in a real rough spot overall and I don’t know that they’ll add much to a Craftworld list. More likely, and perhaps a bit debatable, is the inclusion of a Ynnari detachment that acts as a pure counter-punch or objective bullier to bring some super tough Wraithseers and/or boosted Wraithblades. However, the most obvious addition to the Craftworld list is the inclusion of a Harlequin detachment who have come out very nicely in this new points regime. They’ve always synergized well with a Craftworld list by helping to bring some balance, counter-punch, or extra anti-tank. As opposed to 8th edition where we saw many Craftworld lists with a splash of Harlequins I think we’re going to see a lot of Harlequin lists with a splash of Eldar in the early going – in fact I think it’ll be the most common Aeldari build at competitive events.

It’s okay to lean on friends in times of trouble. Credit: Boon

List Ideas

Pure Craftworlders - Click to Expand

Craftworld Battallion – Expert Crafters, Masterful Shots

  • Farseer Skyrunner
  • Spiritseer
  • x5 Dire Avengers w/ Exarch
  • x5 Dire Avengers w/ Exarch
  • x5 Dire Avengers w/ Exarch
  • x5 Wraithblades
  • x5 Wraithblades
  • x8 Shining Spears w/ Exarch & Star Lance
  • Falcon w/ Starcannon
  • Falcon w/ Starcannon
  • 3x War Walkers w/ Starcannon
  • Wave Serpent
  • Wave Serpent
  • Wave Serpent

This is my first off the cuff take on a counter-punchy Craftworld list. A lot of Eldar lists that I’ve built in the past have focused on blowing the opponent off the table – but I don’t think that’s going to be quite so simple in this new edition under these points changes – so instead this list is meant to play the objective game. Get there, push someone off if need be, and be durable enough to score the points early in. It trades weight of fire for a bit of combat punch and brings enough trunk space to store all of the Eldar bodies.

Harlequins & Craftworlders - Click to Expand

Craftworld Spearhead (-3CP) – Expert Crafters, Masterful Shots

  • Farseer Skyrunner
  • Hornet w/ Twin Horne Pulse Lasers
  • Hornet w/ Twin Horne Pulse Lasers
  • Falcon w/ Starcannon
  • Falcon w/ Starcannon
  • Falcon w/ Starcannon
  • 2x War Walkers w/ Starcannons
  • 1x War Walker w/ Starcannons
  • 1x War Walker w/ Starcannons

Harlequin Battalion (Warlord – 0CP) – Soaring Spite

  • Troupe Master w/ Fusion Pistol
  • Shadowseer
  • Death Jester
  • x5 Troupe w/ 4x Fusion Pistols
  • x5 Troupe w/ 2x Fusion Pistols
  • x5 Troupe
  • x5 Skyweavers w/ Haywire
  • Starweaver
  • Starweaver
  • Starweaver

As I said earlier, this is more in line with where I think the Craftworld lists will tend to go. It combines a mobile, highly tricksy Harlequin element that is surprisingly durable in its own right, with a durable and highly mobile Eldar tank flotilla. This is a list that goes where it wants to be and maximizes fire on a few selected points – it trades in some of the objective sitting durability of the first list for additional firepower and versatility. This is more of an all-comers style list, where I think the first is much more restrained to solely playing the objectives. It does lose out a bit on CP vs the first list as it starts  with nine depending on how you equip. But frankly the Craftworld section will not spend much if anything at all, while the Harlequins will have just about the same or more as they had in 8th when you account for the 1 CP/turn and the potential to snag more back with Players of the Twilight.

Wrap-up

That’s our first look at Craftworlds in the new edition – as ever, we’ll be updating our Start Competing articles as and when there’s been more games played and more information is out there and available. In the meantime, we hope the above is a useful guide to where you can get started in 9th. If you have any feedback or comments, then as ever, hit us up on Facebook, in the comments, or at contact@goonhammer.com.