Playing Eldar in 10th Edition 40k: An Overview
UPDATED FOR THE 9th EDITION CODEX!
The Essentials
1. In Competitive Play, Craftworld Eldar are Vehicle Heavy
Craftworld Eldar have access to perhaps the most powerful vehicles in all of 10th edition 40k. Wraithknights, Fire Prisms, Nightspinners, and Warwalkers form the backbone of most competitive lists, and do the majority of the target elimination. Aspect Warriors and other infantry have only a very limited role to play in competitive 10th edition 40k, and the average competitive list contains no more than 25 infantry models, most of which are Shadow Spectres or Warp Spiders accompanied by an Autarch Wayleaper and Farseer.
2. Eldar dice manipulation is especially effective for high-damage low rate of fire weapons
In 10th Edition 40k, Aeldari have powerful dice manipulation abilities. The first of these is the faction ability, “Strands of Fate,” which enables you to role twelve dice before the game begins and once per phase substitute one of those dice instead of making a role. This means, for example, that you can guarantee that one of the wound roles from a Wraithknight’s cannons scores a six, thereby triggering the “Devastating Wounds” ability and dumping 2D6 unpreventable mortal wounds on a target. You might also use a six to automatically hit with overwatch fire in your opponent’s movement phase, annihilating a light tank or monster before it can even shoot. Furthermore, once per player turn, you can treat any Fate Die as a 6, so long as there is a Farseer within 12” of the unit making use of the Fate die; this is an enormously powerful advantage.
The other notable dice manipulation opportunity is the detachment ability which allows every unit to reroll one hit roll and and one wound roll per phase, which obviously is of greatest benefit to weapons like Brightlances, which have a low-rate of fire, but very high damage.
These bonuses render Aeldari better at target-elimination than any other faction in the game.
3.) Eldar usually win by more or less wiping out the opponent’s key units quickly
If you are new to wargaming, it may seem like every army must win games by annihilating the opponent, but that is not how 40k works in 10th edition. Armies like Tyranids for example, win by flooding midfield objectives with disposable infantry or durable monsters and simply outscoring the opponent even if the Tyranids themselves get wiped out. Eldar, on the other hand, are fast, relatively fragile, and can only effecitvely hold ground by killing the opponent’s units, so lists need to be built with aggression in mind.
3.) Eldar require patience and careful use of superior mobility
Eldar are fragile, but highly mobile. When you deploy your army do so in a way that minimizes your opponent’s ability to target them first turn, even if it means not firing with all of your units right away. Use speed and various deepstrike options, psychic powers, and stratagems to move in a way that makes it difficult for your opponent to bring the full brunt of his or her firepower against your army. Eldar don’t win slug fests, so don’t play that game.
If you want to buy your very first models, but don’t know where to start, check out the combat patrol box.
Games Workshop has released Combat Patrol boxes for each faction that make it possible for new players jump into the game at a relatively affordable price-point and play balanced matches against one another. Each 500pt combat patrol is designed to be roughly equal to each of the other predetermined 500pt combat patrol sets, and this is by far the easiest way to learn how to play.
If you are trying to design an effective 2,000 point list, or you have a modest collection that needs to be developed or improved for more competitive play, you are ready for:
The link that I will put here as soon as the article is updated for 10th edtiion
If have no idea what books/etc. you need to play Craftworld Eldar, have a look at my guide below called GETTING STARTED.
GETTING STARTED: What you need
If you are just getting started with Eldar, you have chosen a good time. The 10th edition rules update for Craftworlds has made them one of the most powerful factions in the game. If you want to have a look at what space elves have to offer before you invest, you can use this free resource to get an idea of rules and unit stats by downloading the free app from the Warhammer Community page with the complete rules: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/06/21/download-the-all-new-warhammer-40000-app-for-free/
Eventually, you will probably want to buy the Index Cards. There are easy-to-reference cards for every units, stratagem, and ability; having these seriously speeds up play: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-PL/index-cards-aeldari-2023-eng
-A Good List-building App
List-building apps help you put together army lists, and we FINALLY live in a universe in which the best one really is the “Battleforge” function in the official 40k app.
–An army
Best of Luck! There is lots more content on this site and on my Youtube channel to help you make the most of Craftworld Eldar on the table
