The Composition of Eldar Armies: a background approach to army list

building by Irisado

This article was first published in October 2009, but was modified and converted into
a PDF for the Warseer community in November 2009.

Introduction:

Allow me to take you on a journey, back through space and time, to a

period so long ago that some of you who end up reading this thread may
not have been born. The year is 1990, and White Dwarf 127 has just
been released, and written within its pages, are the first rules for
Eldar Aspect Warriors, Seers, and the Avatar, together with the most
comprehensive background account of the history of the Eldar that GW
has ever published for Warhammer 40,000.

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It was this issue of White Dwarf which inspired me to play the Eldar in
Warhammer 40,000, and they have been my army of choice through
every edition of the game. As a younger player, I remember reading
the fascinating account of the rise and fall of the Eldar, how there
were different Craftworlds, whose disparate ways of fighting would be
established more clearly over the course of the second and third edition
Eldar Codices, how the mysterious and mercurial Harlequins would, on
rare occasions, materialise, as if from nowhere, to help out a
beleaguered Eldar force, and how the Avatar was summoned by the
ultimate sacrifice of one individual for the defence of a Craftworld. In
other words, I am talking about background, something which I have
always had a passion for, but a subject which has been closer to my
heart when building Eldar armies the more experienced a player I have
become.

Over the course of recent editions (notably fifth edition), it has become

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clear to me that background is becoming progressively more marginalised
in favour of the 'winner takes all approach'. This approach is something
that I do not like, since it often encourages players to put together
armies designed to win at all costs, without any sort of thought to the
background of the force that is being fielded whatsoever. While
individuals are free to take this approach, and, in reality, are probably
forced into going down this path if they want to be successful at
tournament level, it is an approach that a lot of new players seem to
fall into, due to the fact that they do not have access to a lot of the
older books and articles which contain some of the best background
material for Eldar armies.

This article, therefore, intends to explain how background can play a

role in building army lists by examining how a themed list can be created
for each of the main Craftworlds, as well as covering other issues,
such as 'count as' and Special Character creation, which are linked into

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incorporating background into army composition.

I emphasise that this article is not designed to tell players what to do.
It is up to individuals to decide how they wish to play the game, so if
you wish to play using the 'winner takes all' approach, then this is fair
enough. My argument centres on the notion that a lot of players are
gaming in this manner because they do not have the necessary
background information to make an informed choice about whether or not
they wish to take account of background in their army lists.

It is also important to highlight that fielding a list which respects

Eldar background does not mean that the list has to be bad. In fact, I
believe that you can actually build some very effective lists which still
reflect the background of the Craftworld which they are meant to
represent.

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The next section will discuss some general points about Eldar
background, before moving on to tackle the types of armies which can be
fielded by the main Craftworlds, while still respecting the background.

General background considerations for constructing Eldar army lists:

Eldar background is extensive, but also varied, depending on the

Craftworld that is being fielded. There are, however, some general
points that can be extrapolated relating to army composition.

The main issue here is that of Special or Named Characters. The

current Eldar Codex contains a number of Special Characters: Eldrad,
Yriel and the Phoenix Lords. It is Eldrad and Yriel who are, by far
the most problematic of these characters, since they are a Farseer of
Ulthwé, and a Prince of Iyanden respectively; yet, they have a
tendency to appear in all sorts of Craftworld lists, particularly in the

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case of Eldrad, with alarming regularity.

From a background perspective, Eldrad can only be fielded in Ulthwé

armies. This is not to say that he never fought alongside other
Craftworlds, but such instances would involve two or more Craftworlds
to participating in the battle (one of which would be Ulthwé). A lot
of players also seem to include Eldrad in their armies because they
think he is the ticket to success. This, however, is not necessarily
the case. A regular Farseer with two powers can easily fulfil the
role of Seer in the majority of Eldar lists, it just requires careful
positioning of the Farseer relative to other Eldar units within the list.
Taking a regular Farseer also allows creativity to flow, since you can
create your own narrative for your Farseer, making up your own name
for him or her, and if you are a starting an Eldar army for the first
time, you have even more freedom, since your Farseer is likely to start
off only being able to afford one power in small games, so it is possible

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to create a story whereby an inexperienced Farseer becomes steadily
more adept at using psychic powers, which would then explain why (s)he
gains an additional power once you start playing larger battles.

Yriel is more complicated than Eldrad, since he has had two lives in
terms of the background. He was originally a Pirate Prince (an
outcast of Iyanden to all intents and purposes), becoming an Autarch of
Iyanden in the more recent background. Either incarnation of Yriel is,
therefore, acceptable from the point of view of the background
discourse. Once again though, he would not be found leading other
Craftworld armies.

Phoenix Lords pose a different problem, in that they are not fielded
very often in fifth edition, but if they are to be chosen, then the
background discourse argues that they would be fielded in armies which
field a lot of a given Phoenix Lord’s own Aspect squads, or with a

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Craftworld with which the Phoenix Lord in question has a strong
relationship. Karandras, for example, has close ties with the Alaitoc
Craftworld in the wake of the Medusa campaign, and the Craftworld
also has a large number of Striking Scorpion units in its forces. The
other background issue for all of the Phoenix Lords concerns the units
that they join. In terms of the background, they are to be found, in
all probability, leading a squad of their own Aspect, so this needs to be
considered when using them on the field of battle if you want background
to be represented in your force.

The 'count as' issue:

It has been argued by some players that the 'count as' rule allows
Yriel and Eldrad to be used in other armies. While this is an option,
for it to be valid for the background army list approach, a player would
need, in the opinion of this author, to create a history and narrative for

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this character, as well as a name, for such a concept to be valid.
Also, players need to be careful about how they use the 'count as' rule
if employing it to represent Special Characters from previous editions of
the Eldar Codex. Using Eldrad, for example, to 'count as' Iyanna
Arienal does not work, since Iyanna is a Spiritseer, not a Farseer, thus
the difference in ability between the two would not be would not be
adequately reflected. My personal view is that customising your own
regular Farseer or Autarch, and creating your own narrative for them,
is better than using 'count as', but 'count as' can work, providing players
use it with care.

Harlequins are another problematic area to cover in terms of general

background. This is because the background representing them in the
current Eldar Codex is incomplete, thus leading to Harlequins being
fielded in ways which conflict with their background in a variety of
army lists. The most important point to consider when thinking about

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whether or not to field Harlequins in your Eldar army is that they are
rare., They are not part of an Eldar Craftworld, and, for the most
part, have no special links to the Craftworlds (see discussion on specific
Craftworlds for exceptions), thus they turn up to fight in battles when
they feel it is necessary for them to do so, not because an Autarch or
Farseer has summoned them in some way. There are also certain
opposing forces which they are far more likely to fight against than
others, with Chaos being at top of the list by some distance. Necrons
and Tyranids are also said to be the other two armies which could
attract the attention of the Harlequins, particularly if the battle is of
some high significance to the Eldar (which could be determined via the
narrative), although the evidence for this is somewhat limited.

The other problem with Harlequins is the issue of transportation. In

the background, they either made use of scavenged vehicles, mostly
from the Imperium, or used their own transports, so the notion of their

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using Craftworld Eldar transports to carry them around is not
appropriate in terms of their background in my view. Thankfully, such
an event is less common now that the power gaming paradise that was the
Falcon and Harlequin combination is no longer as strong as it used to be,
but it is still a problem I see from time to time in army lists.

Harlequins function as an allied force within the Eldar army. They are
not part of the Craftworld force; therefore, they do not share
equipment with the Craftworld army, and vice-versa. This, combined
with their scarcity on the battlefield, means that for the majority of
Craftworlds, Harlequins will only be an option when fighting certain
armies (Chaos in the main), or if the battle has some sort of special
resonance for the Eldar army in question (which would normally be
determined by a narrative).

None of this means that Harlequins can never be fielded, but they are

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more suitable for narrative campaigns and scenarios, as well as tailored
lists, than they are for regular lists in my view, due to the issues that
I have outlined above.

Other Eldar units rarely pose background problems from the point of
view of army composition, however, some are more likely to feature in
certain forces than others, depending on the Craftworld in question,
which is the subject I will address in the following section.

Craftworld specific background for building army lists:

In this section I will deal with building armies for the five main
Craftworlds from the stand point of background.

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Alaitoc:

Alaitoc armies have undergone some changes from their original

background, due to the losses that the Craftworld’s forces suffered
during the Medusa campaign. As a result, some units which used to be
quite a common feature in Alaitoc armies, such as Guardians, are now
less numerous than they used to be, and the Craftworld has developed
much stronger bonds with the Harlequins than it had in the past.
Striking Scorpions are also much more frequently seen in the forces of
the Craftworld, thanks to Karandras having forged closer ties with
Alaitoc.

Alaitoc armies have always included a substantial number of Rangers and

Pathfinders though, and this has not changed, so even though it is not
wise to field too many of these units in fifth edition, due to the threat

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from squads which can outflank and deep strike, it is these units which
will form the core of a themed Alaitoc army.

An Alaitoc list made in accordance with the background is, therefore,

likely to consist of a core of Rangers and Pathfinders, supported by
Striking Scorpions and/or Harlequins, while Karandras himself may also
be present for very large battles (Apocalypse games being the obvious
candidate, but normal games of a sizeable points value, e.g. 2500 points,
would also be sufficiently large enough to accommodate him). He could
also appear in narrative campaigns or specialist scenarios, so if you
wanted to field him in a small themed battle, you could do so.

Other Aspects are also likely to be found in Alaitoc armies, as are

Guardians, but they tend to be less numerous than the units which have
already been mentioned, although Dire Avengers, being the most common

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Aspect across most Eldar Craftworlds, are still likely to be seen in
significant numbers.

Alaitoc are, by their very nature, quite stealthy, so you may want to
consider an all infantry force with only walkers (War Walkers or
Wraithlords) as ‘vehicular support’. That said, Alaitoc do use vehicles,
so it just depends on what type of force you wish to create as to
whether you want to use them or not. A scouting force which has been
sent forward to spy on an opposition landing site, for example, would
probably consist of infantry, in order to be able to sneak forward, but
an attack force, would be more likely to include vehicles. There are,
therefore, plenty of options, it all depends on how creative you want to
be.

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Biel Tan:

Biel Tan armies are characterised by their high number of Aspect

Warriors, and some of their Swordwind armies could, conceivably, be
comprised of Aspect Warrior without any Guardians at all. The
majority of Biel Tan armies, however, still include Guardians in one way
or another, be it in the form of War Walkers or Jetbikes, or regular
Defender Guardians on foot. The key distinction between Biel Tan and
other Craftworlds is, therefore, that the ratio of Aspect Warriors to
Guardians is skewed in favour of the Aspect Warriors.

To field a Biel Tan force which is consistent with the background, it

would, therefore, be necessary to include a significant number of
different Aspect Warrior squads, and to ensure that there are more

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units of Aspect Warriors than Guardian squads. The definition of a
Guardian squad is a little problematic here, since some Biel Tan players
include War Walkers, Support Weapons, Vypers and Jetbikes in this
definition, since they are operated by Guardians. Other Biel Tan
players, however, only consider Guardians on foot to be counted for this
purpose. The choice is ultimately up to the individual player in this
case, since there is no background evidence which I can recall which
favours one of these two schools of thought over the other.

Autarchs and the Avatar are also strongly linked to Biel Tan, since
the former ties in neatly with the focus on Aspect Warriors and
Exarchs in the Biel Tan background, while the latter has links to the
Court of the Young King. This is not to say that Biel Tan does not
have Farseers at its disposal either though, it just means that the
presence of an Autarch or the Avatar is perhaps a little more likely in

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a Biel Tan list than it would be in other Craftworld lists, albeit not
necessarily at the expense of the Farseer.

Biel Tan is perhaps the easiest Eldar army to create with the current
codex. Aside from not having any Special Characters at its disposal,
and lacking strong links with Harlequins, virtually any other combination
could be fielded without any background issues arising, providing the core
of the army remains built from Aspect Warriors.

Iyanden:

Iyanden is the Craftworld most strongly associated with Wraithguard,

Wraithlords and Spiritseers. It is, therefore, unusual to come across
an Iyanden army which does not include any of these choices, with
Wraithguard, in particular being the most common of these three options.
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From the point of view of fielding an Iyanden force which adheres to the
background, fielding a squad of ten Wraithguard led by a Spiritseer is
almost a given, although players could choose to field smaller units of
Wraithguard mounted in Wave Serpents instead. In very small games of
between 500-750 points, fielding Wraithguard would be too expensive,
but a narrative could be written to explain that an Iyanden force of this
size is just a scouting party, or perhaps an escort for a Farseer, thus
Wraithguard would not be present in such a small operation. A number
of Wraithlords, usually two or three would also be sound choices for an
Iyanden army. By contrast, Iyanden is noted for having relatively few
Guardians due to the losses it suffered at the hands (should that be
claws?) of the Tyranids during the infamous invasion which almost saw
the Craftworld’s total destruction, so while Guardian units (this can be
interpreted as Guardian units of all types or just Storm and Defender
Guardians) can most certainly be fielded, it would be appropriate for

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their number to be reasonably restricted, given that Iyanden rely on
the dead to provide the bulk of their forces. A similar restriction
could also be placed on Aspect Warrior squads.

Iyanden are famous for the implacable advance of their Wraithwalls, but
this does not mean that the entire force has to be fielded on foot. A
mechanised wing is, therefore, perfectly viable for Iyanden from the
background perspective. A fully mechanised Iyanden army would,
however, be rather unusual since it would make Wraithguard on foot and
Wraithlords impractical choices, and without them the list starts to
move too far away from Iyanden background in my view, so this is
perhaps only to be recommended for highly specialised scenarios.

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Saim Hann:

Saim Hann is the Eldar Craftworld most strongly associated with speed.
This speed, however, does not necessarily take the form of a fully
mechanised list in the sense that the entire army rides inside transports,
rather it is much more connected to Jetbikes and Vypers, which are
the core units around which Saim Hann armies are built.

In order to field a Saim Hann force, it is highly likely, from a

background point of view, that Guardian Jetbikes will make up the core
of your force, and that other options, including Vypers, and other
skimmers will be the units which are added around this core force. As
a result of this, fully mechanised lists are very common when playing
Saim Hann armies, although mixed lists are still perfectly viable within
the background for this Craftworld.

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All infantry forces, conversely, are very unlikely to fit the
background of Saim Hann, since they do not fit the concept of speed
which underpins this Craftworld.

Ulthwé:

Ulthwé is the Craftworld which is famous not only for being led by the
most powerful Farseer in the game, but also for its Seer Councils.
While it is no longer possible to put together a ‘true’ Seer Council, it
is still possible to field pseudo Seer Councils, and one of these is likely
to be a part of most Ulthwé armies of more than 1500 points.

This is not to say, however, that Ulthwé is only renowned for its Seer
Councils, rather it is also famous for fielding more Guardians than other
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Craftworlds, including its highly disciplined and well trained Black
Guardians. Fielding Black Guardians is, however, is not that easy in
fifth edition, since ‘count as’ Dire Avengers still end up being armed
with Avenger Catapults, which makes this rule a little awkward in this
case. That said, it is still feasible for friendly games at least, so it is
an option that Ulthwé players may wish to make use of.

Guardians and Seers are, therefore, highly likely to be integral parts

of Ulthwé armies, and given that these units can feature in just about
any type of Eldar list, there are no problems with fielding any of the
three main Eldar list types, and maintaining the Ulthwé background in
the process.

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Other Craftworlds:

The background on less well known Eldar Craftworlds is very limited,

so you have a much freer hand in determining your unit selection with
such Craftworlds, although there are still some general themes which
such Craftworlds tend to be associated with, which are worth bearing in
mind should you wish to field them.

There is also the option of creating your own Craftworld and

background, which can be a very rewarding experience, and allows you
to create your own favoured themes and unit combinations in any way in
which you see fit, providing it does not ride complete rough shod over
general Eldar background principles.

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The ‘Myth of Craftworld Disparity’:

It is important to note that, in spite of the differences between the main

Eldar Craftworlds, they all, for the most part, share a similar
military structure. Any distinctions between them are generally seen
by the fact that some Craftworlds naturally have a tendency to field
more of a certain type of unit(s) than another Craftworld, rather than
not having access to a particular unit, or consisting of armies entirely
composed of just a few units.

I emphasise this point, since the third edition Eldar Craftworld Codex
sought to give the impression that there were actually more differences
between the Eldar Craftworlds than there actually are, and this was a
false representation of Eldar background in my eyes, and one which
caused quite a bit of confusion, particularly for players who had not

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played under previous editions. While background army composition is,
therefore, to be encouraged in my opinion, the third edition Craftworld
Eldar Codex did not really do a good job of representing Eldar
background; indeed, it actually stereotyped some of the Craftworlds a
bit too much in my opinion, distorting some Eldar background in the
process.

Conclusion:

In this article I have highlighted why I feel background army

composition is important for Eldar armies, and why I believe it makes for
a much more fulfilling experience to take this approach when building
your army. I have no doubt that not everybody will agree with this
approach, but I hope that for those of you who appreciate Eldar
background, or perhaps had never even considered it before when

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assembling an Eldar army, that it has provided you with some useful
insight and inspiration.

Thank you for reading,

Irisado – November 2009.

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