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Offline Blazinghand

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A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« on: November 30, 2017, 04:58:14 PM »
Hi 40kO,

My friend Nomad and I have put together an article and are looking for feedback before submitting it. Let us know what you think!


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A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds

In this article, we will introduce the stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds, discuss how they might be used, and review them.

Our review panel:
Blazinghand: Blazinghand has played Ulthwé Eldar since 3rd edition, sometimes running Footdar and sometimes running Mechanized Eldar.
Nomad: Nomad is an old hand at painting and playing WH40k. In 8th Edition he plays Saim-Hann.

We divide stratagems into seven groups:
Craftworld-Specific Stratagems are specific to a Craftworld.
Pre-Battle Stratagems affect deployment or the army list, and are used before the start of the first turn.
Reactive Stratagems are used on the opponent's turn to react to something they did.
Movement Stratagems improve the mobility of Eldar armies.
Psyker Stratagems affect psyker powers or psychic checks.
Shooting and Assaulting Stratagems increase damage output in the Shooting or Assault phases.
Healing Stratagems heal a unit.

Beyond simply making this article a little easier to read, these divisions make it easier to think about stratagems and have them ready at hand in combat. Since there are so many stratagems and so many different situations in which they might be useful, having them organized in one's mind can help with proper application.


Section I: Craftworld-Specific Stratagems

Alaitoc: Pathfinders (average score: 2)

Blazinghand - 2/5
The obvious comparison for Pathfinders is Lightning-Fast Reactions. Pathfinders is less reactive, and must be used at the start of a shooting phase, making it easy for your opponents to play around. An ALAITOC RANGER is already quite difficult to hit. This will not improve a Ranger’s defenses against a Guardsman. Nonetheless, thanks to Troops having Objective Secured, this Stratagem could be useful in a pinch to hold that crucial objective through your opponent’s shooting phase, especially if their base accuracy is good.

Nomad - 2/5
Only a 2/5 because it was 1 cp.  Not really useful due to rangers natural hard to hit bonus, on top of Fieldcraft.


Biel-Tan: Court of The Young King (average score: 2.5)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Marginal with a non-CC focused Aspect Warriors, but makes CC-focused Aspect Warriors much better. I’m not sure that it’s worth taking an Avatar just to run this stratagem in its fullest strength, but making it easier for units to get off charges can make the difference between winning and losing a game, and getting a 16% or 33% increase in damage output is valuable. If this cost 1 CP, it would be incredible. At 2 CP, it’s good in the right army. Probably worth it just for the difference between “maybe” sticking a charge and “probably” sticking a charge.

Nomad - 2/5
Looks great with an Avatar, not so hot without.


Iyanden: Guided Wraithsight (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
For 1 CP, this is a great Stratagem. The Spiritseer’s Spirit Mark ability affects enemies near the Spiritseer, not allies, which means it can be tricky to get your Spiritseer in range to use it. However, if you can pull it off, it acts more like Doom than Guide: any model shooting at enemy near the Spiritseer can get the benefit. Increasing that range from “claustrophobic” to “manageable” alone would be excellent, but increasing the benefit as well effectively means that several of your units will benefit from Guide if they shoot the target. With the greater radius, you could affect multiple enemy units and have potentially your entire army benefiting from Guide.

Nomad - 4/5
Spicy with a Wraith army.


Saim-Hann: Warriors of the Raging Winds (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 4/5
This Stratagem was devised for Shining Spears, basically. Strong if you need that extra bit of range. This makes Turn 1 Charges a lot more plausible, since theoretically you get an average threat range of 29 inches with your Shining Spears charging in. The re-rolls are not that amazing if you’re already planning on running an Autarch Skyrunner. Worth it to catch an opponent out, though. Shining Spears don’t have trouble getting stuck in usually, but for a chance at a turn 1 charge, the price is right.

Nomad - 2/5
Only got my 2/5 because move and fire heavy on bikes.  Vypers got the Biker tag with the codex, and so the Saim-Hann trait is pretty handy for them. But not my style for a jetbike army, so I won't vote higher.


Ulthwe: Discipline of the Black Guardians (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
A great stratagem at a cheap price. Probably not worth it on a 10-elf squad of Defenders, but definitely amazing on a 20-elf squad of Defenders with 2 platforms. In addition to effectively letting them move and fire heavies with no penalty, you could imagine a squad of 20 Defenders and 2 Shuriken Cannons advancing up the field (or emerging from the webway) and putting 40 shuriken shots into a hapless enemy with great accuracy. Could theoretically make Storm Guardians more accurate in assault, but doesn’t seem worth it. Also applies to anything with the GUARDIAN keyword, like a D-Cannon Platform, but probably not cost-effective there, since they split on deployment. Combined with an Autarch, this can allow for an impressive damage output from a large Guardian squad.

Nomad - 4/5
Good for those footdar blobs.


Section II: Pre-Battle Stratagems

Treasures of the Craftworld (average score: 1)

Blazinghand - 1/5
Decent if you want a second relic, but I don’t think you often want a second relic.

Nomad - 1/5
Dunno who would take two relics.


Webway Strike (average score: 5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Amazing. One of our best stratagems. Note that it doesn't work with Banshee's increased charge range. Considering that one of the principle drawbacks of Eldar infantry is short range, being able to deep strike any infantry squad is very solid. You can't deep strike more than 2 units, unlike Cloudstrike which can be used as much as you want. It's most efficient, CP-wise, to deep strike one unit. Good candidates for this are squads of Fire Dragons, squads of Wraithguard, and 20-elf Guardian Defender squads. I personally like the Wraithguard a lot for this, since they can sometimes stand up to the follow-up fire the next turn. We have other units that can deep strike like Swooping Hawks and Warp Spiders for hunting infantry, which means that Fire Dragons coming in with this stratagem offer a new kind of threat that isn't possible without it.

Nomad - 5/5
Just great.  Good flexibility, allows for some nice tricks.


Cloudstrike (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 2/5
Most of our vehicles don’t need this. Could hide a super-heavy Scorpion from alpha strike, maybe. Compared to Webway Strike, you can use it as much as you want, but it still doesn't do it for me.

Nomad - 4/5
Excellent at only 1 cp to hide any of my tanks.


Phantasm (average score: 3.5)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Situationally useful, but won't work twice on the same opponent. Trying to bait out a bad deployment by overbalancing your own then correcting it might work, but probably this is most useful as a tool to react when you made a mistake with your deployment and didn't realize it until the end.

Nomad - 4/5
Could be good, only 2 cp to maybe alter the most important part of the game.


Section III: Reactive Stratagems

Forewarned (average score: 5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
If you have a Farseer, this is a better Auspex Scan. One of our best stratagems. “Elysian players HATE him!” I have used this in literally every game since the codex dropped. Noticeably superior to every other faction's version of this, due to lack of limitations on range and who can use it. A Farseer near a unit of Dark Reapers can make this good against anything. I often find myself firing off hover tank guns with this. Can seriously throw a wrench in the plans of some deep striking Imperial Guard units.

Nomad - 5/5
Too spicy to handle. Pair with big guns for lots of laffs.


Lightning-Fast Reflexes (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
Strong, and stronger if you're Alaitoc. Infuriating when used on a tough unit the opponent NEEDS to kill. A steep price, but worth it for a crucial unit.

Nomad - 4/5
Great in a jetbike/hover tank army.  Everything is a viable target.  Keep your gun line alive just a bit longer.


Celestial Shield (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
Good with large squads of Guardians, especially with Protect. Makes them very resilient. Some people have tossed around the idea of bringing in a 20-elf squad of Guardians via Webway Portal, having them unload into the enemy, then protecting them with Celestial Shield the following turn against the inevitable shooting response.

Nomad - 4/5
Again great on the big squads of guardians.


Section IV: Movement Stratagems

Matchless Agility (average score: 3.5)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Cheap, and can get you onto an objective at a crucial moment for the win.

Nomad - 4/5
Great stuff if I wasn't using bikes that auto get 6" on the Advance.  Still good for getting those squishy tanks in the back repositioned if things go south for them.


Fire and Fade (average score: 5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Amazing for sending opponents into conniptions of rage. A unit can't disembark and embark on the same turn, but you could Webway in 10 Fire Dragons, shoot, then hop them into a transport or out of LoS with this. Given that so many Eldar units have short range with their guns, this is particularly good for keeping those units safe. If nothing else, it's a chance to bring back the jetbike slide or your Warp Spiders' assault move.

Nomad - 5/5
Super tight for shoot and scoot on big guns.  Guaranteed salt.


Feigned Retreat (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Everyone expects Assault to tie up shooty units. Surprise them with this. A must-have for expensive close-range shooting units like Fire Dragons. The very existence of this stratagem reduces your opponent's ability to tie units up in close combat. Obviously you could still get completely encircled, but this is still potentially quite good.

Nomad - 3/5
Tight if you get into a fight with something and want to blap it again.  Not so tight if everything you have is <Fly> and is literally useless (not useless if you are running Saim Hann correctly with shining spears, because they can Fall Back and then Charge again in the same turn).


Section V: Psyker Stratagems

Concordance of Power (average score: 1)

Blazinghand - 1/5
Warlock Conclaves are bad, therefore this stratagem is bad.

Nomad - 1/5
You should feel bad for having a warlock conclave.


Unparalleled Mastery (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Useful for squeezing out an extra smite. Would be much stronger if Warlocks could use it.

Nomad - 3/5
Could be good, but usually already have cast everything that I need, or at least made the attempt.  Eldar usually have lots of psykers, so this can be both good and bad.


Seer Council (average score: 4.5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Excellent; WC 6 is significantly easier than WC 7, and easy to meet the conditions. This is especially good if you're planning to use a smite with your Farseer, and are hoping to get the extra smite damage. This also helps when you have an absolutely crucial Warlock power you absolutely must get off. The effect of re-rolling 1d6, I would note, is very close to getting +1 to a d6 roll. 2d6 and pick the highest averages about 4.5. So, this can be viewed as the equivalent of spending 3 command rerolls on the three powers your warlock and farseer will attempt this turn, for a much lower cost.

Nomad - 4/5
top notch.  Eldar already are strong psykers, having this just adds to that.  Great if you are casting lots of smites.


Section VI: Shooting and Assaulting Stratagems

Supreme Disdain (average score: 5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Very strong, especially with Enhance. Great name for a stratagem, almost worth using purely for the name. This will chew enemies up. A unit with lots of attacks and +1 or +2 to hit, such as Enhanced Scorpions attacking an enemy in cover, or a unit with many powerful attacks, such Wraithblades using the Psytronome of Iyanden, can benefit enormously from this stratagem.

Nomad - 5/5
Use on every time.  Exploding dice are always great.


Linked Fire (average score: 4.5)

Blazinghand - 4/5
Good if you are running multiple Fire Prisms. Reasonably priced.

Nomad - 5/5
Fire prisms are cheap now, and already get to shoot twice if moving slow.  This is just icing on top, especially at only 1 CP.


Overloaded Energy Field Projectors (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 3/5
1 CP for a smite? Definitely could be worthwhile. The man downside is it requires you fired off your shield in a previous turn, so your Serpent must live for a turn without a shield to use this stratagem. The only reason this gets a lower rating from me is that I tend to discharge my Wave Serpent shields when they are closer to death, and a Serpent without a shield is a prime target for enemy anti-tank weapons, especially Autocannons and Plasma that are just looking for an unshielded target. After shield discharge, Wave Serpents can die before the next turn when they are allowed to use this stratagem. It is still worth keeping in the back pocket, however.

Nomad - 3/5
Eh, seems only marginally good.  Not sure how common the Wave Serpent is, so my score here is probably not indicative of anything.


Starhawk Missile (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Situational but good. This isn't quite as useful on Eldar as the equivalent stratagem is on, say, Space Marines, since we have a variety of good ways of dealing with flyers.

As a special note for Dark Reapers, if you have an Aeldari Missile Launcher on a Dark Reaper Exarch, it usually won't benefit from the bonus to hit this Stratagem gives, because of Inescapable Accuracy. However, Inescapable Accuracy only applies during the Shooting Phase, which means that if you use Forewarned to have your Dark Reapers fire at a unit with Fly that just entered via deep strike, they no longer benefit/suffer from Inescapable Accuracy, because this happens during the Movement Phase. So if your Necron opponent brings in a Monolith, you activate Forewarned, and your Exarch has an Aeldari Missile Launcher, and you use Starhawk Missile, Inescapable Accuracy does not apply, which means your Exarch gets a bonus to hit. This could also become an issue if you have some Dark Reapers in a Ynnari detachment, and separately, a Craftworlds detachment, giving you access to this Stratagem. Then, in the Psychic Phase or Assault Phase, an enemy unit dies, allowing the Dark Reapers to Soulburst and fire. In this situation they would not benefit from Inescapable Accuracy, which means that a Starhawk Missile would modify their chance to hit.

Nomad - 3/5
If you really need to shoot that Flyer.....


Runes of Witnessing (average score: 2)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Anti-synergy with Doom, since they don't stack and Doom gives us a better effect. However, this is one of our few sources of re-rolls-to-wound and could make a difference. The fact that it's a bubble makes it better, but the fact that it's so expensive makes it worse. If it were 1 CP, this would be an amazing stratagem.

Nomad - 1/5
2 CP to get a weaker doom, near your Farseer, for only a single phase?  I'll pass.  At least it is a bubble and not a single target, must be why it is 2 CP.

Vaul’s Might (average score: 1.5)

Blazinghand - 2/5
The price is right, but requires 2 Support Batteries and only helps those 2 support batteries. Runes of Witnessing will likely give you more value, but is more expensive. And, Like runes of Witnessing, this has anti-energy with Doom. The primary issue is that unless your Support Batteries are running some pretty sweet guns (like D-Cannons) and shooting at some crucial, it's not clear this is worthwhile. Also, this requires you take Support Batteries.

Nomad - 1/5
How many support batteries do people run, anyways?


Section VII: Healing Stratagems

Tears of Isha (average score: 2)

Blazinghand - 2/5
Situationally useful. Better if you have a Wraithknight one wound below a profile, to pop it up a profile by surprise. It would be pretty rare for me to want to use this otherwise, but when it's useful, it could be a difference-maker.

Nomad - 2/5
Good for wraith armies, useless otherwise.


The Avatar Resurgent (average score: 1.5)
Blazinghand - 2/5
Needs an Avatar, which is still overcosted. Otherwise, this could be quite good.

Nomad - 1/5
Needs an avatar, needs an avatar to die, needs an avatar to die in the fight phase.  Could come back with only 1 wound remaining.  Over priced for the high variance involved.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2017, 07:10:48 PM by Blazinghand »
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Offline Fenris

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2017, 07:45:43 PM »
Nice, I usually pick out what stratagems my army could use beforehand, but still it's a a lot o them to keep in mind.

I think you are fairly spot on with the ratings, however I would like to point out a few more uses for some o them:

Pathfinders:
Not terrible if a unit emerges too close to a large unit on an objective, but still really bad. 1/5

Celestial shield: I wouldn't leave home without it, has been good for me even on smaller units of guardians, would be quite useful or artillery I think because they might suffer multi-DMG fire, and those shots usually have good AP, with this in your toolbox, you simply ignore the AP. The fact that you can choose to use it once you have been targeted makes it really potent IMO. 5/5

Matchless agility: Awesome for banshees, allows them a better chance of making that first turn charge, locking up units and remove overwatch fire if you want to multi charge with say scorpions or shining spears. Quicken amplifies it's power. 4/5

Fire & fade: Requires good LoS blocking terrain and only affects a single unit, and doesn't use the Movement stat. Potent on characters 4/5

Feigned retreat: Awesome in conjunction with a banshee mask, or for counter-counter charge strategy. Here's some examples:
- Autarch or banshees makes a first turn charge locking up a shooty unit, they then get assaulted by a counter charge unit while the initial unit has retreated, this allows you to keep hunting the initial unit.
-Shining spears can re-charge a unit for that lance bonus, while also shoot from a short range on the same or even another target.

It's pricey so only 4/5

Supreme disdain: You really need other boosts to make it worthwhile as getting 17% more attacks is not that hot, unless you have built for it. 3/5

Overloaded field projectors: I also only fire the shield when the serpent is severely damaged, sneaky trick if the opponent ignores a damaged serpent that has already delivered it's cargo though. 2/5

Starhawk missile: Trading a crack missile for a smite, no thanks. If it were in addition to the normal shot then fine, but currently, never. 1/5

Psychic stratagems (including runes of witnessing):
These revolves around the conclave in one way or another which makes them really lackluster. Runes of witnessing or the witchblades of a conclave could be potent.
Unparalleled mastery + seer council is not bad with Eldrad, but would be better with a conclave, if that only was a viable option.
Imagine this if every warlock in the conclave could cast a power each and then boost the range of one with concordance of power. This might just have been what GW playtested when they decided to nerf warlock smite I guess.

Forewarned: Could be powerful not only on reapers, but on a Guardian blob, or maybe, just maybe, a warlock conclave with singing spears? 5/5
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Offline Irisado

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #2 on: December 1, 2017, 12:51:45 PM »
From an editorial perspective, I'd strongly recommend removing all the contractions to save me time during the editing process.  In addition, you will need to remove some of the rules description, notably from the Seer Council and Supreme Disdain sections.

In terms of content, it seems like a useful article to me and it would be great to showcase some up-to-date Eldar content on the front page, given that Eldar is the most active board here :).
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Offline Blazinghand

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #3 on: December 1, 2017, 06:45:31 PM »
Thanks for the feedback, Fenris. I’ve stepped back my excitement on Supreme Disdain for a bit. I think the Starhawk Missile Stratagem is still situationally good, because although it doesn’t have the same maximum potential damage as a regular missile, it very reliably gives some mortal wounds. I’ll add some info about it to the strat.

Irisado, thanks for the feedback. I’ve gone through and removed all the contractions, and tried to remove references to specific rules and rewrite the Seer Council and Supreme Disdain sections. How do we feel about CP costs for the stratagems? I can change these references to something more vague like “This Stratagem is cheap” if that’s more appropriate.




--


A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds

In this article, we will introduce the Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds, discuss how they might be used, and review them.

Our review panel:
Blazinghand: Blazinghand has played Ulthwé Eldar since 3rd edition, sometimes running Footdar and sometimes running Mechanized Eldar.
Nomad: Nomad is an old hand at painting and playing WH40k. In 8th Edition he plays a list of all jetbikes and hover tanks.

We divide Stratagems into seven groups:
Craftworld-Specific Stratagems are specific to a Craftworld.
Pre-Battle Stratagems affect deployment or the army list, and are used before the start of the first turn.
Reactive Stratagems are used on the opponent's turn to react to something they did.
Movement Stratagems improve the mobility of Eldar armies.
Psyker Stratagems affect psyker powers or psychic checks.
Shooting and Assaulting Stratagems increase damage output in the Shooting or Assault phases.
Healing Stratagems heal a unit.

Beyond simply making this article a little easier to read, these divisions make it easier to think about Stratagems and have them ready at hand in combat. Since there are so many Stratagems and so many different situations in which they might be useful, having them organized in one's mind can help with proper application.


Section I: Craftworld-Specific Stratagems

Alaitoc: Pathfinders (average score: 2)

Blazinghand - 2/5
The obvious comparison for Pathfinders is Lightning-Fast Reactions. Pathfinders is less reactive, and must be used at the start of a shooting phase, making it easy for your opponents to play around. An Alaitoc Ranger is already quite difficult to hit. This will not improve a Ranger’s defenses against a Guardsman. Nonetheless, thanks to The Path of War, this Stratagem could be useful in a pinch to hold that crucial objective through your opponent’s shooting phase, especially if they are relying on high accuracy.

Nomad - 2/5
I rated this a 2/5 because it was 1 cp.  It’s not really useful due to rangers natural hard to hit bonus, on top of Fieldcraft.


Biel-Tan: Court of The Young King (average score: 2.5)

Blazinghand - 3/5
This is myarginal with a non-CC focused Aspect Warriors, but makes CC-focused Aspect Warriors much better. It may not be worth taking an Avatar just to run this Stratagem in its fullest strength, but making it easier for units to get off charges can make the difference between winning and losing a game, and getting a 16% or 33% increase in damage output is valuable. If this cost 1 CP, it would be incredible. At 2 CP, it is good in the right army. This can well be worth it just for the difference between “maybe” sticking a charge and “probably” sticking a charge.

Nomad - 2/5
Looks great with an Avatar, not so hot without.


Iyanden: Guided Wraithsight (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
For the low price this is a great Stratagem. The Spiritseer’s Spirit Mark bubble affects enemies, not allies, which means it can be tricky to get your Spiritseer in range to use it. Increasing that range from “claustrophobic” to “manageable” alone would be excellent, but increasing the benefit as well effectively means that several of your units will benefit from Guide if they shoot the target. With the greater radius, you could affect multiple enemy units and have potentially your entire army benefiting from Guide.

Nomad - 4/5
Spicy with a Wraith army.


Saim-Hann: Warriors of the Raging Winds (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 4/5
This Stratagem was devised for Shining Spears, basically. It’s strong if you need that extra bit of range. This makes turn 1 charges a lot more plausible, since theoretically you get an average threat range of 29 inches with your Shining Spears charging in. The re-rolls are not that amazing if you already plan to run an Autarch Skyrunner. Even so, it can be worth it to catch an opponent by surprise. Shining Spears do not have trouble getting stuck in usually, but for a chance at a turn 1 charge, the price is right.

Nomad - 2/5
Only got my 2/5 because move and fire heavy on bikes.  Vypers got the Biker tag with the codex, and so the Saim-Hann trait is pretty handy for them. But not my style for a jetbike army, so I will not vote higher.


Ulthwe: Discipline of the Black Guardians (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
This is a great Stratagem at a cheap price. Although it is not worth it on a 10-elf squad of Defenders, it is definitely amazing on a 20-elf squad of Defenders with 2 platforms. In addition to effectively letting them move and fire heavies with no penalty, you could imagine a squad of 20 Defenders and 2 Shuriken Cannons advancing up the field (or emerging from the Webway) and putting dozens of shuriken shots into a hapless enemy with great accuracy. Not worth it for Storm Guardians. This also applies to anything with the GUARDIAN keyword, like perhaps a D-Cannon Platform, but probably not cost-effective there, since they split on deployment. Combined with support from an Autarch or Farseer, this can allow for an impressive damage output from a large Guardian squad.

Nomad - 4/5
Good for those footdar blobs.


Section II: Pre-Battle Stratagems

Treasures of the Craftworld (average score: 1)

Blazinghand - 1/5
This is decent if you want a second relic, but I do not think you often want a second relic.

Nomad - 1/5
Dunno who would take two relics.


Webway Strike (average score: 5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Webway Strike is simply amazing, easily one of our best Stratagems. Note that it does not work with Banshee's increased charge range. Considering that one of the principle drawbacks of Eldar infantry is short range, being able to deep strike any infantry squad is very solid. You cannot deep strike more than 2 units, unlike Cloudstrike which can be used as much as you want. It is most efficient, CP-wise, to deep strike one unit. Good candidates for this are squads of Fire Dragons, squads of Wraithguard, and 20-elf Guardian Defender squads. I personally like the Wraithguard a lot for this, since they can sometimes stand up to the follow-up fire the next turn. We have other units that can deep strike like Swooping Hawks and Warp Spiders for hunting infantry, which means that Fire Dragons coming in with this Stratagem offer a new kind of threat that is not  possible without it.

Nomad - 5/5
Just great.  Good flexibility, allows for some nice tricks.


Cloudstrike (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 2/5
Most of our vehicles do not need this. One could hide a super-heavy Scorpion from alpha strike, maybe. Compared to Webway Strike, you can use it as much as you want, which is nice, but it is far less useful.

Nomad - 4/5
Excellent at only 1 cp to hide any of my tanks.


Phantasm (average score: 3.5)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Although situationally useful, Phantasm will not work twice on the same opponent. Trying to bait out a bad deployment by overbalancing your own then correcting it is the obvious choice, but in all likelihood this stratagem most useful as a tool to react when you made a mistake with your deployment and failed to realize it until the end. They say that half of the game is decided before the first turn by army lists and deployment, and so this might give an edge.

Nomad - 4/5
Could be good, only 2 cp to maybe alter the most important part of the game.


Section III: Reactive Stratagems

Forewarned (average score: 5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
If you have a Farseer, this is a better Auspex Scan. One of our best Stratagems. “Elysian players HATE him!” I have used this in almost every game since the codex was released. Forewarned is noticeably superior to every other faction's version of the “shoot at deep strikers” Stratagem, due to lack of limitations on range and who can use it. A Farseer near a unit of Dark Reapers can make this good against anything. I often find myself firing off hover tank guns with this. Forewarned can seriously throw a wrench in the plans of some deep striking Imperial Guard units.

Nomad - 5/5
Too spicy to handle. Pair with big guns for lots of laughs.


Lightning-Fast Reflexes (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
Lightning-Fast Reflexes is strong, and stronger for Alaitoc. Infuriating when used on a tough unit the opponent absolutely must kill. A steep price, but worth it for a crucial moment. This is expensive, so be careful with how you use it. Bear in mind that an opponent may often react to this by having later shooting in the turn aim at a different unit, so this is best used to weaken on particular shooting attack, or to make shooting a valuable unit less attractive.

Nomad - 4/5
Great in a jetbike/hover tank army.  Everything is a viable target.  Keep your gun line alive just a bit longer.


Celestial Shield (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 4/5
Celestial Shield is great with large squads of Guardians, especially with Protect. With this Stratagem, Guardians are surprisingly resilient. Some people have tossed around the idea of bringing in a 20-elf squad of Guardians via Webway Portal, having them unload into the enemy, then protecting them with Celestial Shield the following turn against the inevitable shooting response.

Nomad - 4/5
Again great on the big squads of guardians.


Section IV: Movement Stratagems

Matchless Agility (average score: 3.5)

Blazinghand - 3/5
This is cheap, and can get you onto an objective at a crucial moment for the win.

Nomad - 4/5
Great stuff, though bikes do not benefit from it on the Advance.  Still good for getting those squishy tanks in the back repositioned if things go south for them.


Fire and Fade (average score: 5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
This is one of my favorite Stratagems. It is amazing for sending opponents into conniptions of rage. A unit cannot disembark and embark on the same turn, but you could Webway in 10 Fire Dragons, shoot, then hop them into a transport or out of LoS with this. Given that so many Eldar units have short range with their guns, this is particularly good for keeping those units safe. If nothing else, it is a chance to bring back the Jetbike slide or your Warp Spiders' assault move.

Nomad - 5/5
Super tight for shoot and scoot on big guns.  Guaranteed salt.


Feigned Retreat (average score: 4)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Everyone expects assault to tie up shooty units. Surprise them with this. A must-have for expensive close-range shooting units like Fire Dragons. The very existence of this Stratagem reduces your opponent's ability to mitigate close-range shooting. Obviously you could still get completely encircled, but this is still potentially quite good.

Nomad - 3/5
Tight if you get into a fight with something and want to blap it again.  Not so tight if everything you have is <Fly> and is literally useless (not useless if you are running Saim Hann correctly with shining spears, because they can Fall Back and then Charge again in the same turn).


Section V: Psyker Stratagems

Concordance of Power (average score: 1)

Blazinghand - 1/5
Warlock Conclaves are bad, therefore this Stratagem is bad.

Nomad - 1/5
You should feel bad for having a Warlock Conclave.


Unparalleled Mastery (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 3/5
This will let you Smite in addition to normal powers. It would be much stronger if Warlocks could use it.

Nomad - 3/5
Could be good, but usually already have cast everything that I need, or at least made the attempt.  Eldar usually have lots of psykers, so this can be both good and bad.


Seer Council (average score: 4.5)

Blazinghand - 5/5
Seer Council is excellent because it increases your chances to manifest most powers from around 58% to around 72%, and it is easy to meet the conditions for this Stratagem. This is especially good if you plan to use a Smite with your Farseer, and are hoping to get the extra Smite damage. This also helps when you have an absolutely crucial Warlock power you absolutely must get off. Statistically, this can be viewed as the equivalent of spending 3 command re-rolls on the three powers your Warlock and Farseer will attempt this turn, for a much lower cost.

Nomad - 4/5
top notch.  Eldar already are strong psykers, having this just adds to that.  Great if you are casting lots of Smites.


Section VI: Shooting and Assaulting Stratagems

Supreme Disdain (average score: 4.5)

Blazinghand - 4/5
This is potentially very strong, especially with Enhance. Supreme Disdain is an excellent name for a Stratagem. It is almost worth using purely for the name. This will chew enemies up. It works best with something like Enhance or Striking Scorpions that can make this trigger more often, or a unit like Wraithblades with many strong attacks that can trigger this.

Nomad - 5/5
Use it every time.  Exploding dice are always great.


Linked Fire (average score: 4.5)

Blazinghand - 4/5
Good if you are running multiple Fire Prisms. Reasonably priced. When using this stratagem, it’s best to place both of your Fire Prism pretty far apart, each capable of seeing different sets of enemies around line of sight blockers. There’s no reason for your Fire Prisms to be close to each other for this Stratagem, and by getting better visibility coverage of the table, you create more options for yourself. Simply have the Fire Prism with line of sight to the target be the one to paint it.

Nomad - 5/5
Fire prisms are cheap now, and already get to shoot twice if moving slow.  This is just icing on top, especially at only 1 CP.


Overloaded Energy Field Projectors (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 3/5
1 CP for a Smite? Definitely could be worthwhile. The main downside is it requires that you have fired off your shield in a previous turn, so your Serpent must live for a turn without a shield to use this Stratagem. The only reason this gets a lower rating from me is that I tend to discharge my Wave Serpent shields when they are closer to death, and a Serpent without a shield is a prime target for enemy anti-tank weapons, especially Autocannons and Plasma that are just looking for an unshielded target. After shield discharge, Wave Serpents can die before the next turn when they are allowed to use this Stratagem. It is still worth keeping in the back pocket, since opponents rarely plan around this.

Nomad - 3/5
Eh, seems only marginally good.  Not sure how common the Wave Serpent is, so my score here is probably not indicative of anything.


Starhawk Missile (average score: 3)

Blazinghand - 3/5
This stratagem is situational, but good. This is not quite as useful on Eldar as the equivalent Stratagem is on, say, Space Marines, since we have a variety of good ways of dealing with flyers. Although it does not have the same maximum potential damage as a regular missile, it very reliably gives a smaller amount of damage, and on average deals more. Great against a flyer with 1 wound left.

Nomad - 3/5
If you really need to shoot that Flyer.....


Runes of Witnessing (average score: 2)

Blazinghand - 3/5
Runes of Witnessing has anti-synergy with Doom, since they do not stack and Doom gives us a better effect. However, this is one of our few sources of re-rolls to wound and could make a difference. The fact that it is a bubble makes it better, but the fact that it is so expensive makes it worse. Would be amazing if it were cheaper.

Nomad - 1/5
2 CP to get a weaker doom, near your Farseer, for only a single phase?  I will pass.  At least it is a bubble and not a single target, must be why it is 2 CP.

Vaul’s Might (average score: 1.5)

Blazinghand - 2/5
The price is right, but Vaul’s Might requires 2 Support Batteries and only helps them. Runes of Witnessing will likely give you more value, but is more expensive. And, Like Runes of Witnessing, this has anti-energy with Doom. The primary weakness is that unless your Support Batteries are running some pretty sweet guns (like D-Cannons) and shooting at something crucial, it is not clear this is worthwhile. Also, this requires you take Support Batteries, which are of dubious value.

Nomad - 1/5
How many support batteries do people run, anyways?


Section VII: Healing Stratagems

Tears of Isha (average score: 2)

Blazinghand - 2/5
This Stratagem is situationally useful. It is better if you have a Wraithknight one wound below a profile, to pop it up a profile by surprise. It would be pretty rare for me to want to use this otherwise, but when it is useful, it could be a difference-maker.

Nomad - 2/5
Good for wraith armies, useless otherwise.


The Avatar Resurgent (average score: 1.5)
Blazinghand - 2/5
This Stratagem needs an Avatar, which is still overcosted. If you do in fact have an Avatar, this is a potentially amazing Stratagem, and can throw an enormous wrench in your opponent’s plans.

Nomad - 1/5
Needs an avatar, needs an avatar to die, needs an avatar to die in the fight phase.  Could come back with only 1 wound remaining.  Over priced for the high variance involved.
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Offline Irisado

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #4 on: December 2, 2017, 11:45:30 AM »
Irisado, thanks for the feedback. I’ve gone through and removed all the contractions, and tried to remove references to specific rules and rewrite the Seer Council and Supreme Disdain sections. How do we feel about CP costs for the stratagems? I can change these references to something more vague like “This Stratagem is cheap” if that’s more appropriate.

So long as there are only occasional references to the command points, as it currently the case, I think that it's okay.  If it seems excessive to me during the editorial phase, I will make some changes, but so far it doesn't strike me as though you are giving the command points value for too many of the stratagems.
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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #5 on: December 3, 2017, 03:02:02 AM »
@Irisado
In addition, you will need to remove some of the rules description, notably from the Seer Council and Supreme Disdain sections.
It's your editorial right of course, but I just cant help pointing out that this requirement is kind of weird. Anyone who even so much as watches a game, let alone plays one, would know the rules and CP costs of all stratagems in the codices involved anyway. I can understand the issue with unit costs and stats, but stratagems do not even participate in list building as such.

@Blazinghand

To make the article better conform to the common rules of writing papers, you need to explain your score system before presenting any actual scores ;)
« Last Edit: December 3, 2017, 03:07:44 AM by SeekingOne »
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Offline Irisado

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #6 on: December 3, 2017, 08:55:36 AM »
It's a copyright issue, which is explained in forum rule 1.  As I alluded to in my reply above though, the revised version is most likely okay.  I will double check during the editing process.
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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #7 on: December 4, 2017, 09:21:20 PM »
This is a fantastic review of the current stratagems! They are so neatly and accurately summarized with some examples as well. Posts like these tend to be invaluable for newer players such as myself. Thank you for posting it.

I would not underestimate the Tears of Isha strat though. Pair that up with a Bonesinger and one will find themselves healing two D3 wounds on a single model in one turn. Particularly good if you like throwing a protect buffed Wraithlord into the fray. Same applies to a Wraithknight naturally.
« Last Edit: December 4, 2017, 09:56:29 PM by Sieq »

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #8 on: December 4, 2017, 10:14:00 PM »
I would not underestimate the Tears of Isha strat though. Pair that up with a Bonesinger and one will find themselves healing two D3 wounds on a single model in one turn. Particularly good if you like throwing a protect buffed Wraithlord into the fray. Same applies to a Wraithknight naturally.
The main issue with Tears of Isha is that there are so many other Strategems that provide more powerful effects, so the opportunity cost is high.  Similarly, the Bonesinger is expensive for what it does; sure, you could regenerate roughly 20 wounds per game with a pair of Bonesingers if they survived the whole battle, but why not just get a Wraithlord instead?  It only had half the wounds, but it also deals damage and ties up opposing units, and most of the time your opponent will focus down one big wraith construct at a time to reduce the value you get from your Bonesingers.

Also, the Runes of Battle can only buff infantry and bikers.
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Offline Sieq

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #9 on: December 5, 2017, 01:28:23 AM »
I would not underestimate the Tears of Isha strat though. Pair that up with a Bonesinger and one will find themselves healing two D3 wounds on a single model in one turn. Particularly good if you like throwing a protect buffed Wraithlord into the fray. Same applies to a Wraithknight naturally.
The main issue with Tears of Isha is that there are so many other Strategems that provide more powerful effects, so the opportunity cost is high.  Similarly, the Bonesinger is expensive for what it does; sure, you could regenerate roughly 20 wounds per game with a pair of Bonesingers if they survived the whole battle, but why not just get a Wraithlord instead?  It only had half the wounds, but it also deals damage and ties up opposing units, and most of the time your opponent will focus down one big wraith construct at a time to reduce the value you get from your Bonesingers.

Also, the Runes of Battle can only buff infantry and bikers.
I am so glad you pointed that out about the Runes of Battle. I've been using Runes of Fate with my Farseer so much I forgot RoB were infantry & biker specific. Thanks for that.

Ideally, I would only run a single bonesinger. Otherwise, I completely agree about running another wraithlord for the cost of two bonesingers. The idea is to use the strat after the wraithlord takes a beating, and heal for 2-6 wounds all at once to take another beating. Running two singers is expensive, and they can't stack heals on one model a turn. However, a single singer with the Tears of Isha strat can. 70 points for a model with a normal smite, deny one, and D3 heal isn't too bad. Although, I'd take a Spiritseer over him anyday.

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #10 on: December 5, 2017, 04:21:36 AM »
I would not underestimate the Tears of Isha strat though. Pair that up with a Bonesinger and one will find themselves healing two D3 wounds on a single model in one turn. Particularly good if you like throwing a protect buffed Wraithlord into the fray. Same applies to a Wraithknight naturally.
The main issue with Tears of Isha is that there are so many other Strategems that provide more powerful effects, so the opportunity cost is high.  Similarly, the Bonesinger is expensive for what it does; sure, you could regenerate roughly 20 wounds per game with a pair of Bonesingers if they survived the whole battle, but why not just get a Wraithlord instead?  It only had half the wounds, but it also deals damage and ties up opposing units, and most of the time your opponent will focus down one big wraith construct at a time to reduce the value you get from your Bonesingers.

Also, the Runes of Battle can only buff infantry and bikers.
I am so glad you pointed that out about the Runes of Battle. I've been using Runes of Fate with my Farseer so much I forgot RoB were infantry & biker specific. Thanks for that.

Ideally, I would only run a single bonesinger. Otherwise, I completely agree about running another wraithlord for the cost of two bonesingers. The idea is to use the strat after the wraithlord takes a beating, and heal for 2-6 wounds all at once to take another beating. Running two singers is expensive, and they can't stack heals on one model a turn. However, a single singer with the Tears of Isha strat can. 70 points for a model with a normal smite, deny one, and D3 heal isn't too bad. Although, I'd take a Spiritseer over him anyday.

The be precise, about half of the Runes of Battle spells are restricted to targeting Infantry and Bikers, and about half are not.

RE: Tears of Isha, I think it's mainly useful for jumping a unit up a profile. Particularly if it's a Wraithknight or something and you REALLY need him in a higher profile this turn. The price isn't right, though. Keep it in your back pocket, but it's very situational.
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Offline admironheart

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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2017, 09:33:01 PM »
Does forwarned work with a very large unit of scatbike windriders?  That could be almost as usefull as a large unit of Reapers.

If you have a unit like Wraithguard and used Feigned Retreat and Fire and Fade....are you still permitted to charge that turn???

Remember a 2 warlock conclave has as many wounds as a SpiritSeer and gets 2 powers, has the 36 range  stratagem and can use Seer Stratagem...and up to 3 wounds can be absorbed(perhaps more from multi wound weapons) and are still functional. Just about as easy to hide a character unit.

Having 2 Conclave units will net you 4 spells and only costs 30 points more than 2 spells on 2 Spirit seers. Depends on how many targets you have for you opponent but Conclaves are rarely a priority till turn 2 or 3 at the earliest
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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #12 on: December 21, 2017, 04:10:39 AM »
Does forwarned work with a very large unit of scatbike windriders?  That could be almost as usefull as a large unit of Reapers.

If you have a unit like Wraithguard and used Feigned Retreat and Fire and Fade....are you still permitted to charge that turn???

Remember a 2 warlock conclave has as many wounds as a SpiritSeer and gets 2 powers, has the 36 range  stratagem and can use Seer Stratagem...and up to 3 wounds can be absorbed(perhaps more from multi wound weapons) and are still functional. Just about as easy to hide a character unit.

Having 2 Conclave units will net you 4 spells and only costs 30 points more than 2 spells on 2 Spirit seers. Depends on how many targets you have for you opponent but Conclaves are rarely a priority till turn 2 or 3 at the earliest

You can use forewarned with a large unit of windriders, yes.

Feigned Retreat will allow Wraithguard to charge after Falling Back. If you use Fire and Fade, they cannot, even if you previously used Feigned Retreat.

Your statement that a Conclave with 2 Warlocks "gets" two powers is false. A Conclave with 2 Warlocks can only manifest 1 power per turn. It knows Smite and 2 powers from list. If you want a 4-wound Warlock, get a Spiritseer, or better yet, 2 Warlocks. Don't get a Conclave.

Therefore, 2 Conclaves of 2 Warlocks each will NOT allow you to cast 4 spells per turn. If you want to manifest more than one power out of a Warlock Conclave, you need several Warlocks; more than 2.

It is not as easy to hide a Conclave of 2 Warlocks as it is to hide 1 Warlock. This is because Conclaves lack the Character Keyword.
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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2017, 04:22:12 AM »
Blazinghand mostly nailed it.

I can only add that Scatter-bikes are almost as good as Reapers at killing MEQ, better at killing light infantry and much worse at damaging very heavy infantry or vehicles. Hence, it depends on what comes out of reserve. If it's IG Scions deep-striking in, scatters would be better. But against GK terminators or Tallarn tanks Reapers are still preferable.
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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2017, 12:04:59 PM »
I am not saying that the conclave can cast 2 powers at the same round...but you have options.  To have the same options you need 4 spirit seers or 4 warlocks.  None of which get a 36" range vs the Shadows of the Warp and become essentially useless in some matchups.

180 points for 4 spirit seers
140 points for 4 warlocks
120 points for 2 conclaves.

Yes there is a downside in only 2 powers vs their 4, but in an actual game rarely do all 4 powers get in range/or need to cast all 4.  Wasted Points.
And Yes they are not characters....but try it out....you will find you conclaves live til turn 3 or the entire game.  Ive only had mine shot at twice this entire edition as my assault forces or heavy weapons garner all the targeting by my opponents. 
All I am saying is try it...keep them out of LOS and utilize the stratagem on your forward forces and pick a power to benefit your close gunline forces and you will find the utility is nice.

If only 1 warlock in a conclave dies it is just as easy to hide the surviving conclave one as it is the character one.
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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #15 on: December 21, 2017, 12:34:53 PM »
If only 1 warlock in a conclave dies it is just as easy to hide the surviving conclave one as it is the character one.

This is false. If a Conclave has only 1 Warlock remaining, it does not gain the character keyword. It is simply a Warlock Conclave with 1 model, just how you could have a unit of guardians with only 1 guardian left.

--

Also in general the idea that 2 Conclaves of 2 Warlocks each for 120 points is comparable to, say, 4 Warlocks each casting a spell in spellcasting ability is basically false. When you say "there is a downside in only 2 powers vs their 4" that is an ENORMOUS downside. You can't just dismiss literally halving the number of spells per turn like that.

I'm also not sure why you're comparing 4 Spiritseers to 2 Conclaves of 2 Warlocks; why not compare 2 Spiritseers? 2 Spiritseers has the same number of wounds as 2 Conclaves of 2 Warlocks, and is better at smiting, is more durable due to the Character keyword, is cheaper, casts the same number of spells per turn, etc.

Heck, 2 Spiritseers and 1 Warlock costs about the same as 2 Conclaves each with 2 Warlocks, and can cast more spells per turn, is more durable, gets real smites, can use Spirit Mark, has the Character Keyword.

On top of that, if you're hiding your conclave behind LoS-blocking cover in the backlines then using the stratagem to support forward units... why not just take 2 Warlocks, 1 in the frontlines and 1 in the backlines, each protected by the Character rules, and cast twice as many spells?

Warlock conclaves have a huge number of weaknesses and disadvantages over regular Warlocks, in return for the following strengths:

1) Slightly cheaper per body on the field.
2) Since the Warlocks are balled up into one unit, they benefit more from buff spells and Stratagems, and can do certain things like charge into overwatch better.
3) Ability to use the Concordance of Power Stratagem

However, the weaknesses are immense:
1) No Character Keyword
2) Much more expensive cost per power manifested
3) Inability to split up like several individual Warlocks might be able to
4) Only takes up one HQ slot (so can't pay HQ tax as easily)

maybe you don't care about disadvantage #4 and you offset #3 by spending CP on Concordance of Power or something. But #1 and #2 are so immensely bad that it ruins the unit outside of really niche trick plays. It's hard to overestimate how much my opponents love killing my Warlocks when they get the chance. I certainly don't want to spend extra points to make my Warlocks easier to kill.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2017, 03:00:53 PM by Blazinghand »
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Re: A Review of Stratagems in Codex: Craftworlds
« Reply #16 on: December 21, 2017, 07:23:05 PM »
I also think your being disingenuous about the viability of Concordance of Power.  With a casting of 7 and the opponents DtW ability I have found that you are lucky to get 50% of your powers off even when they only have 1 or 2 DtW and you have 4 or more casters.

outside 24" range is HUGE for casting in this regard.  So perhaps your underestimating the #3 benefit as it is multiplied by the effect that no deny the witch works that far out.

We also have to consider RoB spells.  I find that Enhance is not useful all the time. Quicken is great...but it is also a 1 or 2 turn at best spell in most games. Protect, Jinx and Conceal are spells that are useful almost all the time.

If you want to utilize Enhance and Quicken and Protect and Jinx and Conceal at various times (and perhaps Embolden on a Farseer Mindwar build list) you are going to need a lot of pyskers. A whole lot.

I take a Farseer, Spiritseer, Warlock and a Conclave in just about every list. I used to take 3 warlocks but find the Conclave works more efficiently in so many ways.
I have yet to try out 2 conclaves but am thinking of dumping the spiritseer to give it a go.

Eldar are about Flexibility(movement and tricks) and Mono use units (aspect warriors are a prime example)  I think you see the pyskers more of a mono use unit and I see them more as a Flexible unit.

It is different playstyles.  If you use the D-cannon on a Vaul support effectively....your opponent will never be able to shoot them...Same with a Conclave. That is why your #1 is not huge in a good deployment and #2 is offset by the flexibility over a mono use unit.

So yes I think you are way off in your description.

Like most people think storm guardians are only for flamers. That is junk imo.

I was the first to mention the idea that 24 storm guardians should kill 30 some guard or  15 some marines.  You need to think outside the box.

In my last outing my opponents are so scared of storm guardians, that this well traveled ITC gamer had his ork boyz locked in with a dozen storm guardians, 10 banshees and Baharoth. His only desire was to kill off the Storm Guardians and the phoenix lord. The Swooping Hawk lived and 1 storm guardian lived....the few remaining boyz fled from the field.

If you get Quicken off on 24 webway storm guardians you can demolish an enemy gunline.  But too much dice have to meet average rolls that your chances are slim of it working.  So I concluded a 105 point blob is enough to protect my gunlines.  Even Genestealers are hesitant about rushing me now :)
« Last Edit: December 21, 2017, 07:26:48 PM by admironheart »
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