The Best Craftworld Eldar Units for New Players

Let’s be clear about one thing: almost every unit in the 9th edition Aeldari codex could find a place in a highly effective tournament list. The current Codex is just too deep to identify a handful of “A” list units and honestly claim that these are the best.

Nevertheless, despite having a wide variety of powerful datasheets to choose from, Craftworld Eldar can be a challenging faction for new players. Most Space Elf units require finesse and synergies with other units and buffs in order not to blown off the table by turn 3.

What follows list of powerful Craftworlds units that will be effective tools in any roster.That is, it doesn’t matter if you want to play Ulthwe, Biel-Tan, or any other mainstream or custom Craftworld combo; the units named below can be easily slotted into your list and perform well for you in the majority of your games. If you are new to the faction and want to be sure that the first models you buy will be effective on the table, (and still have a place in your list six months from now,) this guide is for you. (It is not an effort to identify the MOST optimal tournament list.)

To those veteran players out there who want to know why such-and-such a unit was not included, I will say this: by all means leave your suggestions in the comments below. As I said above, I do not mean to imply that the units named here are objectively the best or that they are the most competitive picks in every list- only that they are effective, accessible to new players, and potent regardless of the sub-faction a player selects. If I tried to cover every unit that has the potential to be an “A-lister” with the right combos and sub-faction bonuses, I would have to talk about almost every unit in the codex. (And although I do plan to eventually provide guides for everything in the book, that isn’t going to happen here.)

Without further ado, here are the units that I would recommend most strongly to new players:

HQ:
Farseers and Farseer Skyrunners
Baharroth

Troops:
Rangers

Elites:
Howling Banshees
Striking Scorpions
Warlock Conclaves and Warlock Skyrunner Conclaves

Dire Avengers

Fast Attack:
Swooping Hawks
Vyper Jetbikes

Heavy Support:
D-Cannon Support Platforms (I have not updated the article below to reflect this change, but you can find my updated video about platforms here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc9U1k17C6w)

Falcons

Transport:
Wave Serpents

Farseers and Farseer Skyrunners

The Farseer is probably the only auto-include in every serious eldar force. This spooky space elf mystic gives you access to some of the best psychic powers in the game and allows you to reroll a single Strands of Fate die each battle round. In many lists, Farseers are essential to optimizing other key units. In most of my competitive rosters, I run two pointy eared prophets, (and occasionally I even wonder if I should add a third.)

Roughly speaking There are three types of Farseer build:
-The Mortal Wound Assault Seer
-The Midfield Debuffer and Warpcraft Secondary Scorer
-The Backfield Buffer (a.k.a: The Soccer Mom of Space Elves)

Which Farseer is right for you will depend on what else is in your list and your overall plan for target elimination and scoring. Here is a quick guide to the basics.

THE MORTAL WOUND ASSAULT SEER (Will work in any list)

The assault seer has one job: to cause grievous harm to an opponent’s army by barraging it with mortal wounds for multiple turns. Usually, this psychic assault elf takes EXECTIONER, and CRUSHING ORB in addition to SMITE while relying on the “Unparalleled Mastery” stratagem to cast all three each turn.

Generally speaking, you want your Assault Seer mounted on a Jetbike. On turn one, she can “Ride the Wind,” moving up to 22” in order to get into range with key powers. After dealing a barrage of mortal wounds in the psychic phase, your assault seer can fire with her shuriken catapults and use Battle Focus plus the “Matchless Agility” stratagem to move out of sight of the enemy. You can screen her turn one with either Rangers or Shroud Runners, which can block melee units that and provide “Look Out Sir” protection for your pointy-eared psychic warrior. Alternatively, you could also use a Warlock to QUICKEN your assault seer 22” back into your own lines. If you have the resources to pull this second option off, it is probably the best move- and Battle Focus can be a back-up option if QUICKEN fails or is denied.

In an Ulthwe or Biel-Tan list there are relics available that will enable your assault seer to know an additional power. Generally, this is going to be DOOM, GHOST WALK, or MIND WAR. (You only want GHOST WALK if you have something like a big unit of Wraithblades in deepstrike. In this case you can use a Strands of Fate die plus GHOST WALK to bring in the heavy hitting melee unit and then automatically succeed on a 9” charge.) I will explain the MIND WAR combo in an upcoming video, but it involves a probable turn-one smack down by a Farseer and four Warlocks arriving in a Falcon; it’s more of a semi—casual and narrative move, but it can still do wonders in competitive games.

NOTE: the very BEST way to build an assault seer is to take the Custom Craftworld trait “Hail of Doom”, the relic Kurnos’ Bow, the Warlord trait “Mark of the Incomparable Hunter”. If you reserve one Strands of Fate die to assure a hit roll of 6, this model will average about 8 mortal wounds in the shooting phase after dealing 4D3 mortals in the psychic phase. In an upcoming unit-focus video I will explain the particulars of this build, but I bet you can work it out on your own simply by reading the rules that I just named. In these lists, I like “Children of Prophecy” as the second custom Craftworld trait because it increases the reliability of psychic powers, but some of the best players in 40k are using “Masterful Shots” instead.

THE MIDFIELD DEBUFFER WITH SCORING POTENTIAL (Good in lists that use Warp Craft secondaries and/or lots of shuriken fire.)

This squirrely space elf commander hovers around the mid-board projecting DOOM onto enemy targets, using WILL OF ASURYAN to enable elites to strip enemy units of objectives, and occasionally casting SMITE. This build does especially well in rosters that like to use the Warp Craft secondary objectives “Mental Interrogation” or “Warp Ritual”. You can use the stratagem “The Multifaceted Mind” to enable the Farseer to still cast an essential power in addition to scoring one of these secondaries.

DOOM is an enormously valuable tool for expanding the threat profile of shuriken units to include tanks and monsters in addition to infantry. A unit of 10 Dire Avengers targeting a T7 enemy tank or monster can reasonably hope to deal at least 8 damage if the target is DOOMED. Banshees and Scorpions can be similarly enhanced to hit way above their paygrades. As such, DOOM is an especially useful for dominating the midfield where most primary objective scoring occurs.

In some lists, you might consider swapping WILL OF ASURYAN for GHOST WALK or one of the powers usually assigned to a backline Farseer.

Although you could theoretically could run this Farseer with the relic Faolchu’s wing in order to save 30pts and still have a solid movement characteristic, I suggest mounting midfield Farseers on Jetbikes. The extra toughness and extra wound provided by the bike are especially valuable in the late game when this model might need to seize an objective. Also, bikes are faster.

Lastly, the midfield Farseer- like the assault seer- is usually well positioned to trigger the “Eldritch Storm” stratagem if you can afford 3CP and your opponent has several units grouped tightly together. “Eldritch Storm” does D3 mortal wounds to enemy units within a 12” bubble centered on a point within 24” of a Farseer. Each Farseer can take a psychic action to empower the storm adding an additional mortal wound. This is yet another situation in which you may want to spend a CP on “Multifaceted Mind” so that your midfield seer can both empower the storm and still cast DOOM.

THE BACKLINE FARSEER (Synergizes well with Swooping Hawks, The Avatar of Khaine, midfield Wraith Units, and backfield heavy support units.)

Your backline Farseer is an easy include. She stays out of line of sight while bestowing buffs on midfield units, usually GUIDE and FORTUNE. The best target for GUIDE is usually an infantry unit with high volume of fire, like a maxed-out squad of Swooping Hawks or Dire Avengers. Swooping Hawks are especially good because their 6s to hit auto-wound, so rerolling all misses means they increase their auto-wound output by a third. (In combination with JINX your Hawks can now threaten light tanks and monsters too.) The same is true of Dire Avengers if you use the “Bladestorm” stratagem, (which also synergizes with the “Shuriken” keyword.)

FORTUNE is best used on whatever unit is most likely to be targeted by your opponent, but if you plan to run the Avatar of Khaine and expose it to enemy fire, FORTUNE is essential. The Avatar is durable, but not robust against volume of fire and mortal wounds unless it has FORTUNE. You probably also want FORTUNE if you are relying on a Wraith unit to hold an objective against significant fire.

I would also suggest giving your backline Farseer the Warlord trait “Seer of the Shifting Vector” to pick up some extra CP and perhaps “Faolchu’s Wing” for added mobility should you need to reposition to get in range with a psychic cast, to avoid a threat, or to seize a midfield objective in the late game. NOTE: Seer of the Shifting Vector is worthwhile even if it means spending a CP for a second Warlord trait. The average CP yield over the game will nearly always exceed the cost.

Lastly, if you have a powerful backfield heavy support unit, (like triple D-Cannons on Platforms or Fire Prisms,) within 12” of your Farseer you can use the “Forewarned” stratagem to interrupt your opponent’s turn and blast a unit that tries to deepstrike into your backfield. (It’s occasionally even better to use this on your Swooping Hawks that keep using Battle Focus to jump to safety in your backfield.)

GENRAL DO’s and DON’Ts for FARSEERS

DO strongly consider using the “Seer Council” stratagem to attach a Warlock Conclave to your Farseer and obtain a bonus on casts. (This is especially important in lists that don’t already have a casting bonus.)

DO remember to use “Strands of Fate” dice to succeed on especially important casts or psychic actions for secondary scoring.

DO remember the relevant stratagems:
Unparalleled Mastery- (provides an extra cast,)

The Multifaceted Mind- (allows a seer to perform a psychic action and still cast a power,)

Forewarned- (allows a unit within 12” of a Farseer to interrupt an opponent’s turn and shoot a
unit of deepstrikes,)

Eldritch Storm- (does mortal wounds once per game to enemy units within a 12” bubble.)

DON’T bother giving your Farseers the Singing Spear. It hits hard, but with no AP it will rarely pose a threat to a target worthy of 3 damage.

Baharroth

I am just going to say it: Baharroth is the best HQ unit in the codex. He is an independent operator who increases your damage output, your scoring potential, and your board control- and there is no way for an opponent to counter him.

This feathery Phoenix Lord can move 14” into the midfield, shoot an enemy unit with his Assault 4, S6, -2AP, flat two damage weapon and then flappy flap to safety anywhere on the battlefield at least 9” from enemy units- OR- he can charge the enemy unit- do some moderate melee damage- and fly away before the opponent counter attacks. This. Power. Rocks.

Although Baharroth doesn’t hit quite as hard as some of the other Phoenix Lords, his absolutely insane mobility means that he is likely to fight every turn of the game. He can also give himself “Objective Secured,” which means he excels at scoring in the late game.

Because Baharroth is almost impossible to pin down and eliminate, he is particularly strong in lists that make use of the “To the Last” secondary objective, which grants a player 5VP at the end to the game for each of her three most expensive units that survives to the end of the last turn. In the unlikely event that Baharroth dies, you might be able to resurrect him for 1 CP using the “Phoenix Reborn” stratagem.

There is only one way to really screw up with Baharroth: fail a charge. If he fails a charge, he loses his opportunity to Battle Focus away in place of his consolidation move. You can avoid this by never attempting a charge of more than 5” unless you have a Strands of Fate die to guarantee its success. (Even if you are making a 5” charge, you want a command reroll in your back pocket just in case.)

Rangers

Rangers are essential in almost every Craftworlds list. Not only are they the most points efficient way to fill troops slots, but they enable a Craftworlds player to control and screen the midfield before the game begins.

Rangers are a high skill cap unit that may require significant practice to master, as you have to take into account the speed and disposition of your opponent’s melee units and highly mobile shooting units in order to deploy them optimally. But even very new players can have success with rangers simply by positioning them in the midfield out-of-line of sight of the enemy, on or near hard-to-reach objectives.

Here is what Rangers do for you:

-Provide midfield objective control from turn 1
-Block fast and powerful enemy melee units from crossing the board too quickly
-Provide early game scoring for the secondary objectives “Retrieve Nachmund Data” and “Engage on All Fronts”
-Screen out opposing units that also forward deploy
-Contribute low-cost finishing fire for badly damaged hard targets and characters
-Provide CP generation on turn 1 in missions that require midfield objective control in order for a player to gain CP
-Provide rerolls for indirect fire weapons if the target is within 12” of the rangers

Here are some DOs and DON’Ts for getting the most out of your Rangers:

-DO deploy your Rangers before any other units IF your opponent also has units that can deploy in the midfield. Because units that forward deploy need to be positioned at least 9” from enemy models and at least 9” from the opponent’s deployment zone, you can use your Rangers to prevent your opponent from putting dangerous melee units 9” from the soft underbelly of your backfield.
ALSO: if you are running Striking Scorpions and your opponent has units that Forward Deploy, you use Rangers to screen out your opponent’s screening units- that is, you place the Rangers in the midfield where they will prevent your opponent from blocking your Scorpions with her own Scout units. (This way, you can still wait to position your Scorpions until your opponent has deployed most of her units, enabling you to pick the best turn 1 target.)

-DO have a unit of Rangers “Retrieve Nachmund Data” in a hard-to-reach quadrant on turn 1 if you are using that particular secondary objective.

-DO consider outfitting at least one unit of Rangers with a Wireweave Net for 5CP and positioning this unit to block a key enemy melee unit, (while staying out of line of sight.) The Wireweave Net has an 83% chance of doing D3 mortal wounds to an enemy attempting a charge AND subtracting 2 from the charge roll. In combination with RESTRAIN, this build can keep a dangerous enemy melee unit out of the game for a full turn or more.

-DO use your Rangers to destroy high toughness targets with only a single wound remaining. Remember that you can use a Strands of Fate die to guarantee that a unit of Rangers does a mortal wound to a stalwart tank or monster. (The same is true of characters with only a single wound remaining.)

-DO remember that you can use the “Fire and Reposition” stratagem to move into a ruin with Rangers, shoot something, and the guarantee that you will be able to Battle Focus them out of the ruin and out of sight. Often you will be better off holding onto that CP, but occasionally it’s a wise move.

-DO consider occasionally sacrificing a unit of Rangers by moving them forward aggressively to block an enemy unit from moving more than a couple of inches, (knowing when this is a good idea requires practice.)

-Do remember that you can use the “Resonator Shard” stratagem to enable most indirect fire weapons to reroll their hit rolls against a unit within 12” of your Rangers. The significant nerf to indirect fire in the 2022 Balance Dataslate means that indirect fire weapons are no longer an auto-include for Craftworlds; but if you are using them, this is a powerful combo.

Wraithguard with Wraithcannons

These guys are a great pick for new players in a casual meta. They are easy to use, quick to paint, and narratively awesome. Wraithguard are a solid include both for hard-target elimination and objective control, (especially with the appropriate buffs,) and they can also help you score the secondary objectives “Behind Enemy Lines” and “Engage on All Fronts.”

If you want to run a unit of Wraithguard, stick a unit of 5-7 in reserve using the “Webway Strike” stratagem, and bring them in on turn two or three to put the hurt on a hard target using those S10, -4AP, D3+3 Wraith Cannons. (I prefer the Wraith Cannon to the D-Scythe because it’s 5 points cheaper, has better range, and can be fired in melee as it doesn’t have the BLAST keyword.)

Despite the inherent durability of Wraithguard, you will likely need to use “Lightening Fast Reactions” and/or FORTUNE if you want them to shrug off serious enemy fire. Also, don’t be afraid to use “The Tears of Isha” in your command phase to heal a wounded model- it’s only 1 CP and can create serious inefficiencies in the target elimination math for your opponent.

Although they work well for any sub-faction, Wraiths are especially sticky in Ulthwe lists where they can use Strands of Fate dice to guarantee that success on saving throws even against high AP weapons. Ulthwe Wraithguard also benefit from the 5+++ feel-no-pain against mortal wounds, which is normally one of the most efficient methods for eliminating these obscenely tough ghost warriors.

All that said, the effectiveness of Wraithguard drops of dramatically in match-ups against serious tournament players with high-performing lists. These sorts of players will know how to prevent you from putting ghost warriors within range of appropriate targets, or will only let you deploy them near units with good invulnerable save and hit modifiers that significantly dull the effectiveness of the cannons. Such lists are also likely to have ways to get around the durability of wraiths, so in these games, your ghost soldiers are unlikely to earn their points.

Look at it this way: if your meta includes people who regularly go 4 and 1 at Grand Tournaments, or who are running clones of lists that win big opens, Wraithguard might not be a great investment. In the average semi-competitive or beer-and-pretzels playgroup, however, Wraiths as easy and rewarding.

Wraithblades with Ghost Axes and Forceshields.

Wraithblades with Ghost Axes and Forceshields are the toughest infantry available to Craftworlds players. They are good for target elimination, good for objective control, and invaluable for keeping a portion of the board or your opponent’s army firmly pinned down. They will also take pressure off other units in your list, as they will be resource intensive for an opponent to eliminate.

Although Wraithblades are definitely not an auto-include for Craftworlds, they should be relatively easy to use for new players in casual metas, and have also appeared in some very high performing tournament lists piloted by pros.

The most effective way to use Wraithblades is to start 5-10 of them in deepstrike with the “Webway Strike” stratagem and bring them turn two or three to auto-succeed on a 9” charge with a combination of GHOST WALK and Strands of Fate.

IF you plan to run Wraithblades, I would advise the following:

-DO plan to use both “Lightening Fast Reactions” and FORTUNE most turns to make these spooky shock troops even more unshiftable. (Seriously, this unit is a crazy investment. You need to further enhance their durability for them to really earn their keep.)

-DO use Strands of Fate to auto-succeed on armor saves against REALLY hard hitting enemy weapons

-DO consider using WILL OF ASURYAN to give the unit Objective Secured if you plan to hold objectives with them

-DO be sure to have CP set aside for the “Insane Bravery” stratagem in case you need it

-DO use this unit to tie up important parts of your opponent’s army close to her deployment zone

-DO use “The Tears of Isha” strategem in your command phase to heal damaged ghost robots if there are any.

-DO consider selecting “To the Last” if you plan to run a big unit of Wraithblades. You don’t want your opponent to be able to just ignore them.

Howling Banshees

Howling Banshees are one of the most powerful melee tools available to a Craftworld player; these screamy murder elves are fast, hard-hitting, and easy to add to virtually any roster. Although there are a number of ways to assemble a Banshee squad, there is one build that stands out as the obvious pick if you are running only a single unit: 4 regular Banshees accompanying an Exarch with Mirror Swords and the Exarch Power “Piercing Strike.” The result is a squad that puts out 22 attacks on the charge: 10 from the Exarch at S4 with +1 to the wound roll, -3AP, 2 damage; and 12 from the regular Banshees at S4 with +1 to the wound roll, -4AP, 1 damage, and you get all of that for 105 points. Oh, and they also shut down overwatch ,are -1 to hit in both shooting and melee, and force enemy units in engagement range to fight last.

I really can’t emphasize enough what a difference that +1 to wound makes. Even models that are T7 are wounded on a 4+ and those attacks basically go straight through armor. If you have DOOM in your back pocket, your Banshees can threaten even the toughest units in the game with significant damage.

The only challenge to using Banshees is getting them into position to strike first against ideal targets without getting tripped up by screens of chaff or getting charged themselves before they can make their move. I suggest either sticking them in a transport or bringing them in from deepstrike with the GHOST WALK + Strands of Fate move that I mentioned in the section on Wraithblades. Hold them back for a turn or two while you clear chaff with small arms fire.

I usually prefer to stick my shrieky ladies of Khaine in a Wave Serpent and position it out of sight roughly in the center of the midfield. From here, they can jump out a few inches from the Serpent and use Strands of Fate to guarantee that their Advance and Charge ability gets them into engagement range of anything in the midboard. Alternatively, you can put them in a Falcon. The advantage here being that you can theoretically deepstrike with them on turn 1, but really skilled opponents won’t let you get to anything good with them on turn 1.

Should you decide you want to include more than one squad of Banshees, you will need to consider some alternative builds, as each Exarch power is capped at one per army. Should you include a second unit, consider the same build but with the Exarch Power Nerve-Shredding Shriek and the Exarch Relic the Cronescream; together, these will enable the squad to do D3+2 mortal wounds on the charge, which balances out the loss of the extra damage from Piercing Strike. If you AREN’T running two squads, it is well worth considering giving the Cronescream to the first squad if you have the CP to spare.

Lastly, although Banshees do quite well unbuffed, they benefit in a big way from ENHANCE or GUIDE; (I already mentioned DOOM.) Oh, and don’t forget to shoot with those Shuriken Pistols before you charge.

If you play your Banshees well, a single squad should more than earn its points even in the most challenging match-ups.

Striking Scorpions

Striking Scorpions are great for both target elimination and for dictating the circumstances of engagement in the early turns of the game because they can deploy in the midfield 9” from the enemy. Even in games where your Scorpions aren’t wracking up kills to add to their competitive tallies back at the Exarch shrine, they are helping you win by limiting how your opponent can deploy her models. This is because with the appropriate combos, Scorpions can threaten almost any unit in the game.

The build I suggest is this: four regular Scorpions plus an Exarch with the Biting Blade and the Exarch Power “Crushing Blows.” In this iteration, your Exarch will have 7 attacks that automatically wound the target if they hit, coming in at -2AP, and flat 2 damage; 6s to hit will generate additional hits. Because of the auto-wound mechanic and the decent AP, the Striking Scorpion Exarch is dangerous even to tanks and monsters.

The other four Scorpions contribute an additional 12 attacks that generate additional hits on 6s, at S5, -1AP, 1 damage with each 6 to wound adding an extra mortal wound on top of other damage,(although the mortal wound mechanic only works against non-vehicles/monsters and only for the original 12 dice- not any of the extra blows generated by 6s to hit.) Nevertheless, this profile will shred most infantry or add a couple of extra wounds to the tank or monster your Exarch is pounding on with Crushing Blows.

The trick to using Scorpions effectively is to know how to deploy and how to reposition them if necessary. Generally, you want your Scorpions to be the last unit you place on the board so your opponent can’t be sure where to anticipate a 1st turn charge into her backfield. When it comes time to place your Scorpions, you either want to be able to move and charge a key unit on turn 1 OR choose a place in your opponent’s line where you can create a critical log-jam. That is, your Scorpions charge, do some killing, but then are still engaged with one or more units at the beginning of your opponent’s turn such that a chunk of her army is just trapped in her backfield during the movement phase. While her units are stuck spending a full turn dealing with your sneaky aspect ninjas, your other elves are casually seizing midfield objectives and dictating the terms of engagement in the middle of the table.

In the event that you DON’T get first turn, just use the “Phantasm” stratagem to pick up your Scorpions and either put them into reserves for free, or deploy them in your own backfield as counter chargers. Be aware, however, that you cannot reposition them elsewhere in the midfield, as “Advanced Positions” only applies during the deployment phase, which is over by the time you use “Phantasm.” If you DO put your Scorpions into reserve, remember that you can use the Strands of Fate + GHOST WALK trick to ensure that they auto-succeed on a charge the turn that they come in on one board edge or another.

Lastly, if you do decide to take a second unit of Scorpions, I would advise sticking with the Biting Blade on the Exarch and if you can spare the points, “Deadly Ambush” is a solid Exarch Power, especially against armies with Power Armor. Don’t bother with the Relic Sword.

Warlock Conclaves or Warlock Skyrunner Conclaves

WARLOCK FOOT CONCLAVES

Although I think Warlock Skyrunner Conclaves are usually the better pick, I am going to take a moment to discuss the virtues of ‘Footlocks’ because they are just so darned efficiently pointed. You can either take 1-6 models at 20 points per model, or a single Warlock with the CHARACTER keyword for 40 points. If there are at least 4 models in the unit, they know an extra psychic power from the Runes of Battle and so long as at least 4 models remain, they can cast an extra power too.

In general, I think you want to go with the multi-model conclave in part because a single model can be killed by Perils of the Warp, and 2022 nerfs to indirect fire have made out of sight Conclaves without the CHARACTER keyword harder to eliminate. If you are going with a single model, you are better off putting it on a jet bike for reasons discussed below.

In general, there are two places for a foot Conclave: accompanying a backline Farseer who is benefiting from the “Seer Council” stratagem, OR standing in the midfield, well-screened and out of sight while handing out buffs like QUICKEN, PROTECT, and ENHANCE. I think you either want to start with 2 models in the unit to keep it cheap or 4-5 models for the extra cast.

There is an additional special advantage to a large Conclave: access to “Battle Psykers”, a 1CP stratagem that enables a unit of Warlocks with at least 4 models to manifest BOTH versions of a power from the Runes of Battle discipline when it succeeds on a cast.

Oh, just in case you had in mind some crazy scheme where you give 6 Warlocks Singing Spears and have them jump out of a transport to cast JINX on something before blasting and charging it, I am going to stop you right there. Is this plan cool? Absolutely! Is it worth 170 points in competitive play? Absolutely not. Save your assaultlocks for Crusade play.

That said, there is one edgy and awesome build for drop-pod Warlocks, but I am saving that one for an upcoming video.

THE THREE ELF SKYRUNNER CONCLAVE

The triple-elf skyrunner Conclave knows two Runes of Battle powers and can cast two powers so long as there are at least three models in the unit. This is an enormously powerful tool, especially since the 2022 balance data-slate nerfed indirect fire, making this unit fairly easy to keep out of harm’s way.

My favorite combo for the triple bike conclave is PROTECT/JINX and QUICKEN/RESTRAIN.  You might use both QUICKEN and PROTECT in your own backfield on turn 1, or you might move 16” on turn 1, cast SMITE and RESTRAIN on a key enemy melee unit pushing into the midfield and then shoot the enemy with your shuriken catapults before Battle Focusing out of line of sight.

In most lists, I think you will find that the triple bike Conclave offers the most utility for the points.

SINGLETON SKYRUNNER

If you take only a single elf in a Skyrunner Conclave the point cost nearly doubles, but the unit gets the CHARACTER keyword. The advantages here are obvious: the model can now make use of “Look Out Sir,” AND is eligible to both perform psychic actions and receive relics. As I said earlier, “Look Out Sir” is not essential as Warlock powers do not require line-of-sight and indirect fire was considerably nerfed in the 2022 data slate. The other advantages, however, are not to be overlooked. If your army is designed to have the option to lean into psychic secondaries, having a highly mobile, relatively cheap unit that can cast them is a big advantage. Even more important, however, is access to the Sunstorm relic bike.

If you mount a singleton Warlock on the “Sunstorm,” you will have a 60 point model with Objective Secured that can advance 26” and make a QUICKEN move of another 26”. In the late game, this model can grab any objective on the board; it’s an especially killer combo with Baharroth.

DIRE AVENGERS

Howling Banshees may have might heart, but Dire Avengers have earned my deep and abiding respect. If you don’t already own ten of these, you should stop reading this article and get to your local game store and pick up 10 immediately. They really are that good.

Nine regular Avengers accompanied by an Exarch sporting two Shuriken Catapults is one of the most powerful midboard control units that you can have. With the right buffs they can SERIOUSLY mess up anything T7 or less, and with judicious use of “Matchless Agility,” they are enormously hard for an opponent to eliminate. Ten Avengers with eleven catapults put out 33 shots at S4, -2AP, flat one damage. If you pop the stratagem “Bladestorm,” all of their 6s to hit generate additional hits, (consider the crazy synergy here with GUIDE.) The real key, however, is to cast DOOM on target, which will enable your Avengers to reroll wounds doubling your chances not only of wounding but also of triggering the “Shuriken” ability, which takes their AP to -4. AND THEY ONLY COST 120 POINTS!

That said, if you also invest 25 points in “Shredding Fire,” AP -4 triggers on 5s AND 6s, which means that against say, a unit of Space Marines, your 10 Avengers making use of “Bladestorm” and DOOM should deliver 14 wounds at -4AP AND 7 wounds at -2AP. Brutal.
Perhaps best of all, they can just keep using “Matchless Agility” to step in and out of the footprint of a ruin in order to remain out of line of sight on your opponent’s turn.

In the event that your opponent manages to pick a couple off with indirect fire or a bike unit, you can then make use of the “Avengers of Asuryan” stratagem that enables a unit of Avengers below its starting strength to fire twice in your shooting phase, while making use of all of those buffs both times.

Lastly, although Avengers are a killer addition to a roster from any Craftworld, should you decide to run a custom Craftworld with “Hail of Doom,” all of your 6s to hit automatically wound the target and come in at -4AP. At this point, GUIDE becomes a moral and aesthetic imperative.

SWOOPING HAWKS

You might think that after my gushing remarks about Banshees, Scorpions, and Avengers, I could not have any enthusiasm left for a 4th aspect shrine: not so. Swooping Hawks are an aspiring Autarch’s hot, feathery dream: maneuverable, deadly, and well stocked with enough dirty tricks to make even the most adept Mon Keigh opponents squirm with fear and frustration. 10 Swooping Hawks is one of the most sensible investments you can make as a Craftworlds player.

A big block of Swooping Hawks can jump into the midfield every turn to lay down withering small arms fire, and then jump away anywhere on the board outside of 9” of an opponent. They are strong picks for target elimination and even stronger picks for scoring.

You might worry that with no AP on the Lasblaster, Hawks have too narrow a list of ideal targets to be optimal in take-all-comers competitive play. You can get around this limitation by making sure you have a speedy Warlock Skyrunner Conclave with JINX in any list that also includes Hawks. You also need to plan on casting GUIDE on your Hawks more often than not. GUIDE is particularly effective here because the Lasblaster autowounds on unmodified hit rolls of 6. With GUIDE and JINX, 10 Hawks put out 40 shots at S4, rerolling all misses, auto-wounding on 6s to hit, applying a -1 to the opponent’s saving throw. It’s worth mentioning that this volume of fire is a solid answer to “Armor of Contempt”. Because JINX modifies the die itself, it ignores circumvents that new Armor of Contempt rule that reduces AP by 1. As a result, Lasblasters with JINX hit Marines and Sisters of Battle as hard as weapons with -2AP.

In early game, your Hawks should probably jump into your own backfield so that they can stay totally out of sight. As you thin out your opponent’s army, you can start instead repositioning them in your opponent’s backfield to help score secondary objectives like “Engage on All Fronts,” or “Behind Enemy Lines,” and to set up attacks on hard-to-reach objective holders the following turn.

Although Hawks are mobile enough to not absolutely require a durability buff, “the Phoenix Plume” is an excellent addition, granting them a 5+++ feel-no-pain that lets them play a little more aggressively. If you have the points to spare, the “Wing Evasion” is also good as it conveys a native -1 to hit. Now that indirect fire comes with significant penalties, “Winged Evasion” is no longer essential for a big unit of Hawks, but it helps. If you plan to run the large Hawk unit in a list making use of “To the Last,” you should definitely take both the Exarch power and the relic.

A word of caution: when using Hawks in this way, the “Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack” can be a trap. ONLY make use of this if you can do so without significantly endangering the unit. The grenade pack is a solid resource, but don’t sacrifice a 180 point unit just to do 3 or 4 mortal wounds in a narratively badass way. Again, in the late game, aggressive tactics will serve you well, but early on you should prioritize keeping the unit alive.

The other Hawk build that you might consider is a squad of 5 or 6 to help with secondary scoring for “Engage on All Fronts, “Retrieve Nachmund Data,” and “Behind Enemy Lines.” (The reason to take 6 is so they can guarantee success when rolling for “Retrieve Nachmund Data.”) Advanced players might also give this squad “Suppressing Fire,” an Exarch power that has a good chance of shutting down overwatch and preventing the targeted unit from performing actions. In the hands of a highly skilled player, this can strip an opponent of some secondary points that she may have assumed were unassailable.

That said, if you would rather not buy 15 of a single type of aspect warrior, Warp Spiders can provide similar scoring benefits and also provide powerful small arms fire against a variety of targets. Although I did not include them in this list, they are probably more versatile in this role than a small unit of Hawks, especially if you give them the Exarch power “Web of Deceit.”

VYPER JETBIKES

The sheer affordability of the Vyper relative to its speed and durability makes it one of the most valuable trading units in the codex. Vypers can grab midfield objectives early in the game, help score Engage on All Fronts, and be used to lure powerful enemy units into the open. They are high value tools for both new and veteran players.

At only 45 points, the Vyper might be the most efficiently pointed unit in the entire codex. In most builds, but especially those making use of the “Hail of Doom” custom Craftworld Trait, it is best to simply leave the Shuriken Cannon on the Vyper. This is because it is not primarily a target-elimination unit; it is for scoring, trading, and board control.

A Vyper that seizes a midfield objective on turn 1 presents an opponent with two equally bad choices: allow you to control that objective, OR expose units worth three or four times the cost of the Vyper in order to eliminate it, knowing that your sneaky elves will be able to blast those units next turn and then Battle Focus or “Fire and Fade” out of line of sight. Any actual damage that the Vyper does is really just a bonus.

A Biel-Tan player seeking to make use of free rerolls to hit might be tempted to run individual Vypers with Brightlances as target elimination units instead, and while there is certainly nothing wrong with this approach, I think even Biel Tan Players will ultimately find that these bikes work best as disposable control units rather than hunter killers.

Be mindful of ways that you can make your Vypers just a bit more resource intensive to eliminate in order to force your opponent to over-commit resources to destroying them. The Ulthwe 6++ invulnerable save in combination with Strands of Fate is powerful, as is “Lightening Fast Reactions” which Craftworld can use to great effect.

FIRE PRIMS

These gorgeous point-and-click target elimination tanks got a big boost in the 9th edition codex. They are effective against all comers, relatively easy to use for new players, and a solid addition to a list making use of “To the Last.” Novice and veteran players alike may want to consider a pair of these to round out a roster.

You probably already know that Prisms have a single powerful heavy weapon with a 60” range and two shooting profiles: the “Focused Lance” and the “Dispersed Pulse.” The “Lance” profile is: Heavy 2, S14, -5AP 3D3 damage, (which is a monstrously powerful against hard targets.) The “Dispersed” profile is Heavy 3D3, S6 -2AP, 2 Damage, BLAST, (which is effective against heavy infantry and bikes.)

In order to for your Fire Prisms to reliably earn their points as target elimination units, you will need to use Strands of Fate dice to guarantee some automatic hits on those “Lance” profiles. (It doesn’t hurt to also have a wound reroll in your back pocket either because you are running Ulthwe or because you have an expendable CP in clutch moments.)

The biggest obstacle to using Fire Prisms effectively is that they are SO dangerous that your opponent will prioritize eliminating them if she can. So here is what you do: give both Prisms “Vectored Engines,” (which allows a vehicle to make a Battle Focus move once per game.) Start both Prisms completely out of line of sight of the enemy. On turn one, poke the hull of one Prism ever so slightly out into the open so that you can target something desirable. Then, use the “Linked Fire” stratagem to have both Prisms shoot the target that only the one can see, (also invalidating invulnerable saves.) Then, Battle Focus the exposed Prim out of line of sight, and repeat with the other Prism on turn 2. Hopefully by turn three, your opponent’s army will be roughed up enough that you can afford some limited exposure of your Prisms to keep up the barrage. Keep in mind that you can always use “Fire and Fade” to repeat the trick WITHOUT vectored engines, but that is a pretty significant CP expense on top of “Linked Fire,” so generally it will not be worthwhile.

Keep in mind that in some match-ups, you won’t even need to hide the Prisms; you can just outrange your opponent with the 60” firing solution. Don’t spend CP if you don’t need to.

Lastly, don’t forget to make use of the “Forewarned” stratagem if your opponent tries to deep strike something to come after your Prisms. A nearby Farseer can point at the newly appeared unit and one of your Prisms can interrupt your opponent’s turn to reduce the interlopers to shuddering jelly.

If you do decide to run Prisms in a list with “To the Last,” remember to prioritize keeping them alive in the late game rather than dealing maximum damage.

Falcons

Just in case you didn’t get the memo: Falcons have a transport capacity of 6, can deepstrike on turn 1, and the models inside CAN DISEMBARK THE SAME TURN THAT THEY ARRIVE. This means that Falcons can deliver Howling Banshees within striking distance of your opponent turn 1, or drop a unit of Fire Dragons in your opponent’s deployment zone without any CP expenditure. They also carry a deadly and customizable heavy support loadout.

Every Falcon comes automatically with a Pulse Laser, Scatter Laser, and twin linked Shuriken Catapults at 140 points. The Pulse Laser is better than twin Bright Lances at Heavy 2, S9, -3AP, D3+3 and a 48” range, making the whole package only very slightly overcosted if it had no transport capacity and no ability to deepstrike.

My favorite thing about Falcons is that they are just so damned flexible. When you show up to the game and see what your opponent is running, you can decide what goes inside and whether or not to start in deepstrike. If you want to make the Pulse Laser a real killer, you can expend a Strands of Fate die, but it’s also fine to just keep the sleek hover tank out of sight while it delivers a dangerous unit to the midfield.

The only upgrade to the Falcon that I think you should seriously consider is Vectored Engines so that you can pull the same trick as a Fire Prism on turn 1 if you don’t put the Falcon into deepstrike. The Heavy Weapons upgrades are not efficiently pointed. 20 points gets you a single Bright Lance in place of a single Scatter Laser, whereas 20 points will get you two Bright Lances on a Wave Serpent.

Wave Serpent

If you have any ambitions at all to play Craftworld Eldar and you don’t have a Wave Serpent in your collection, buy one immediately, (and then consider getting it a friend.) The iconic hover tank may not have sexy tricks or glamorous damage output, but the Wave Serpent remains one of the most dependable tactical tools in the Craftworlds arsenal. It’s a nippy T7 transport with 13 wounds and a spooky shield that gives it a 5++ invulnerable save against shooting attacks AND prevents it from ever being wounded on anything less than a 4+.

Things you might put in your Wave Serpent with its transport capacity of 12 include: two units of Howling Banshees, one large unit of Dire Avengers and a character or small Conclave, six Wraithblades, one unit of Banshees and one unit of Fire Dragons, Guardian Defenders, a Warlock Conclave and some Banshees, or an elaborate picnic service for your elves to enjoy after crushing some ill-evolved enemy. Whatever you stuck in there, it’s probably safe.

There are essentially two ways to outfit and use a Serpent. The first is to leave it bare at 140 points, move it to the midfield turn 1 and keep it out of line-of-sight until in disgorges its occupants, after which it does one or more of the following: grabs an objective, move-blocks a key enemy unit, or harasses enemy infantry with Shuriken Fire.

The other option is to spend 20 points on a pair of Bright Lances and MAYBE even 10 more on Vectored Engines. Some people who are very good at this game invariably opt for this build. The Vectored Engines allow you to fire with the Bright Lances turn 1 without losing the tank, and the Bright Lances make your otherwise merely irritating vehicle a serious threat even after it has done its job as a transport.

Lastly, we should address the “Shield Discharge,” which is a 1CP stratagem that enables you to sacrifice the special defensive buffs inherent to the Wave Serpent in order to deprive an enemy unit of the ability to fire overwatch and give them -1 to hit in melee. The idea here is clearly to nerf a target for some embarked melee unit to charge. I honestly struggle to imagine why you would ever do this. Banshees already have both those advantages inherently, Wraithblades are too tough to care, and Scorpions do not suffer the indignity of riding around in transports. I assume the designers had Storm Guardians in mind when they wrote this rule, but Storm Guardians are like 40k content creators who keep inviting Henry Cavill on their channels; they’re cute and all, but it’s never going to happen.

So that’s it!

If you are looking to get started with Space Elves, the units above ought to serve you well regardless of what sub-faction you are interested in running. I have added a sample list below that draws exclusively on the units mentioned above, but I would encourage you to put your own twist on any list you decide to put on the table.

Asuryani – Strike Force – Grand Tournament ( 10CP – 2000PT – 0PT )

Asuryani Battalion Detachment ( 3CP – 2000PT )

SUB-FACTION: Ulthwé

HQ
Baharroth (140)

WARLORD: Farseer (90) TRAITS: Seer of the Shifting Vector,  PSYCHIC POWERS: Fortune, Guide, RELICS: Faolchú’s Wing

Farseer Skyrunner (120)
PSYCHIC POWERS: Doom, Ghostwalk

TROOPS

Rangers (70) 1x Ranger: Wireweave net, 4x Ranger

Rangers (65) 5x Ranger

Rangers (65) 5x Ranger

ELITES

Dire Avengers (145) 1x Dire Avenger Exarch with 2 Shuriken Catapults, 9x Dire Avenger, EXARCH POWERS UPGRADE: Dire Avengers – Shredding Fire

Howling Banshees (105) 1x Howling Banshee Exarch: Mirrorswords, 4x Howling Banshes, POWERS UPGRADE: Howling Banshees – Piercing Strikes, RELICS: Cronescream STRATAGEMS: Relics of the Shrines

Striking Scorpions (105) 1x Striking Scorpion Exarch: Biting blade, 4x Striking Scorpion, EXARCH POWERS UPGRADE: Striking Scorpions – Crushing Blows

Warlock Skyrunners (105), Warlock Skyrunner, PSYCHIC POWERS: Protect/Jinx, Quicken/Restrain

Wraithblades (225) 5x Wraithblade: Ghostaxe, Forceshield

FAST ATTACK

Swooping Hawks (195) 1x Swooping Hawk Exarch,  9x Swooping Hawk, EXARCH POWERS UPGRADE: Swooping Hawks – Winged Evasion, RELICS: Phoenix Plume

Swooping Hawks (90)1x Swooping Hawk Exarch, 4x Swooping Hawk

HEAVY SUPPORT

Fire Prism (170) Vectored engines

Fire Prism (170) Vectored engines

DEDICATED TRANSPORT

Wave Serpent (140)

STRATAGEMS

Relics of the Shrines (1CP)

Seer Council (1CP)

Total Command Points: 10

Reinforcement Points: 0

Total Points: 2000/2000