So I've been thinking about the Falcon some more. A Bright Lance Falcon, compared to a Crimson Hunter, is differently durable (more T, but no Hard to Hit), more expensive, and has less damage output. Upside is that it can stand still, and it can transport. So, if we're paying a premium for those features over a Crimson Hunter, how could we make use of it? I was wondering if it might make sense to run a Falcon with some Dark Reapers in it.
The idea would be to have 6 Dark Reapers deploy inside the Falcon. If you go second, they'll be protected inside the Falcon hull. They can jump out and start shooting right away without any penalties due to Dark Reaper special rules.
So imagine something like this:
Falcon with Pulse Laser, Bright Lance, Shuriken Cannon
3 Dark Reapers, 1 is Exarch with Aeldari Missile Launcher
3 Dark Reapers, 1 is Exarch with Aeldari Missile Launcher
Total Points Cost: 410
Loadout Explanation:
So on the Falcon, a Bright Lance is very good anti-tank and fairly cheap. The Shuriken Cannon is not really more expensive than the catapults so it's a good buy as well.
For the Dark Reapers, our goal is to get 6 Starshot Missiles as cheaply as possible. The Reaper Launcher's Starshot Missile is basically the same as the Aeldari Missile Launcher's Starshot Missile, but the AEML is cheaper. The downside of the AEML is that the Sunburst Missile secondary fire is much worse than the Reaper Launcher's Starswarm Missile secondary fire, and this especially shows against multiwound targets like bikers and TEQs. Still, for our AT role, the AEML is cheaper and just as good.
By splitting into two units of 3, we can downgrade two Exarchs to AEMLs, saving some points and maintaining firepower (and in fact, becoming slightly more durable).
Damage output:
1 Bright Lance shot, 1 PL giving 2 shots, 6 AEML/Reaper Launcher shots, all at pretty good BS, and with the Reaper-fired weapons suffering no penalties against Hard To Hit:
Total Expected Damage against T7, 3+: 9.4 damage
Total Expected Damage against T8, 3+: 7.1 damage
Total Expected Damage against T8, 2+: 5.5 damage
Total Expected Damage against T7, 3+, -1 to hit: 8.5 damage (note: Reapers don't get a penalty)
Not bad! But how does it match up to other eldar AT options for about 400 points?
Comparison units of similar price
1 Crimson Hunter Exarch + 1 Crimson Hunter:
Vs T7 3+: 11.3 damage
Vs T8 3+: 8.5 damage
Vs T8 2+: 7.6 damage
Vs T7 3+, -1 to hit: 13 damage (note: CH get bonuses against fliers)
4 War Walkers with Bright Lances:
Vs T7 3+: 12.4 damage
Vs T8 3+: 9.3 damage
Vs T8 2+: 7.8 damage
Vs T7 3+, -1 to hit: 9.3 damage
3 Ravagers (15% more expensive):
Vs T7 3+: 14 damage
Vs T8 3+: 10.5 damage
Vs T8 2+: 8.8 damage
Vs T7 3+, -1 to hit: 10.5 damage
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Blazinghand compares things
So, it looks like Eldar have many options that are strictly better in terms of raw antitank output. War Walkers armed with Bright Lances and Ravagers armed with Dark Lances have a very similar performance profile, for their cost; 3 ravagers puts out about 15% more damage than 4 twin-BL war Walkers, but costs about 15% more as well. Crimson Hunter Exarch + Crimson Hunter (which clocks in at just around 400 points) bring 4 BLs and 2 PLs to the table, which are slightly outperformed by the 8 BLs of War Walkers for the same price, except against Flyers, which they dominate due to their special rules. Any of these choices does better in every category than a Falcon with 6 Dark Reapers does for the same cost.
So why might we prefer the Falcon + 6 Dark Reapers for 400 points, to the Crimson Hunters, the War Walkers, and the Ravagers? Aside from just damage, what relative strengths are there?
Mobility: The Crimson Hunters and Ravagers are more mobile, able (or forced) to move and fire with the damage output noted. War Walkers are assumed to be standing still. The Falcon + Dark Reapers assume the Falcon is standing still. Despite the scout move, and decent speed, I can't help but feel that War Walkers are the least mobile here. The Crimson Hunters are easily the fastest.
Tactical Flexibility: The Dark Reapers have secondary fire, The Falcon has the Shuriken Cannon, and the Falcon does field a small transport capacity that could be useful later. The War Walkers can effectively redeploy after everyone deploys, and are surprisingly respectable in assault (though not actually good). The Ravager actually wins in terms of melee output in some scenarios due to Bladevanes. The fact that Crimson Hunters are forced to move is a point against them, here.
Durability: The War Walkers are relatively vulnerable, with a defensive profile similar to a Ravager (Though with fewer wounds per model, but no falloff of effectiveness). The Dark Reapers aren't exactly sturdy either, though the long range of their weapons and their nature as Infantry (who can get cover bonuses much more easily) helps. Sadly, every lost wound reduces Dark Reaper damage output. The Crimson Hunters are not amazing toughness wise, but they have good saves and critically, they are hard to hit. The Falcon is sturdiest but gets no hard-to-hit bonus.
Auras/bonuses: Most of these groups of units are split up a lot (like the Dark Reapers + Falcon being three units) or in the case of Ravagers aren't Asuryani or <CRAFTWORLD> so dont' benefit from Autarch/Farseer powers (though Doom will still work for the Ravagers). You could run the War Walkers as one unit of 3 and one unit of 1, and Guide the unit of 3. Running one unit of 6 Dark REapers would be more expensive but would make Guide work better.
Maybe the Falcon + 6 Dark Reapers isn't as good as I thought then. Seems like Eldar has better AT options, though perhaps on the field the small advantages in durability and range the Falcon and Dark Reapers have would make the difference. I've seen Falcons do some good things this edition, maybe it's worth it for the durable and versatile Falcon frame.
I'm also guessing basically none of these match up to a bunch of Fire Dragons at close range, but this was more of a "long range AT" kind of idea.
Any thoughts? What are you folks running for ranged AT? Does the Falcon + Reapers idea have merit, or should I just be running Crimson Hunters and Ravagers?
