Greetings all
So, I've been tossing around an idea in my head regarding making an painting Chaos/Slaanesh Eldar. Please understand at this point they are a chaos influenced Eldar Army. They will not be using Dark Eldar rules or be associated in anyway with them. I will be creating a WWP DE airforce variant after i complete this army.
Basic theme is that they were an Eldar force that slowly became corrupted over time by the great enemy. They are Eldar influenced by Slaanesh
post fall. They are not
DARK ELDAR they are
CHAOS ELDAR, whom are now in the service of slaanesh to do his bidding for some reason or another, or over time have slowly been corrupted by the influence.
Now, i have a few questions in regards to fluff behind my idea. I'm sure it has been done before ( almost everything has ) and if not, at least thought about.
I am looking to create a solid reasoning/validity behind fielding an army such as this. I was trying to justify the units i wanted to take and all i could really come up with was that, it couldn't be a crone world due to no Eldar paths hence aspects ect existing pre-fall.
Due to the fact it will be a themed army, the inclusion of Slaaneshi units such as the Forge World KoS ( to represent the Avatar ) and Daemonettes ( for Banshees or more useful – perhaps harlequins due to the similar rending nature ) need to be fluffy as to why those units are allowed to be an acceptable substitute for other models.
Furthermore, i need to look at making a solid 1500-2000 pts list variants for tournament level play. This army will be heavily themed, converted and painted lovingly in the next month and a half ( Hooray for Uni semester holidays). I have a basic colour scheme set out already.
Troop limitations: I'm guessing no harlies due to fluffwise but to be honest i love harlies so much in gameplay. They really perform miracle for me and i use them to great effect. Perhaps i could count them as a unit of Solitaires? Any thoughts on that? Even though Solitaires are typically loners, perhaps i can find a way to fit them in with the same rules are harlies.
Some wiki-fluff ( i know it's not the greatest resource ):
Solitaires
One of the most important and most feared positions within the troupe is that of the Solitaire. The Solitaires act as a sort of scout for the troupe, seeking out potential members from the populations of the various other Eldar factions. They are greatly feared and yet pitied by the other Harlequins. A Solitaire lives apart from the rest of the troupe at all times and this isolationist nature is also evident on the battlefield, as a Solitaire always fights alone and never joins with a unit of other Harlequins. The reason for this is that during the much rarer version of their already rare performances about the Fall, it is only the Solitaire who is able to play the role of the Great Enemy of the Eldar, Slaanesh.
Some have been foolish to take on the role and been driven insane. This also means that when the Solitaire dies, his soul is damned to eternal torment by the Great Enemy. The Laughing God sometimes emerges from the Webway to trick Slaanesh, thereby saving the soul of the departed Solitaire from eternal damnation; however, the Laughing God is rarely able to successfully do so, and most Solitaires must endure eternal torment. Sometimes, if a Solitare is saved, his soul will be transferred to one of the machines as mentioned above.
The role of Solitaire is thus difficult for an Eldar to bear. Only the strongest are able to endure the position and the knowledge that they will surely be consumed by Slaanesh upon death -- those who are not strong enough either die or are driven insane. Since his soul is already claimed, the Solitaire has absolutely no fear, and he is one of the most skilled warriors found on the battlefield of the 41st millennium.
Any thoughts/suggestions or comments regarding this line? It is possible like a suggested earlier to use Daemonettes for Harlie substitutes. If i allow that, what would Slaanesh's reasoning be as to why he/she would allow such a unit to be a part of a Chaos Eldar force. Same reasoning applies for the KOS to represent the Avatar.
I currently have pretty much 1 of every unit available to Eldar, so i have quite a selection to choose from. Now, i was wondering what sort of influence would a Slaanesh themed Chaos Eldar army have on my unit choices?
I tend to stay away from Vypers, Guardian Jetbikes, Hawks, Rangers, Shining Spears and very occasionally use Scorpions.
Here is the part where i am torn between a competitive army list and a completely themed for fun army. Personally I'd like them both.
I typically run an Iyanden-esque army ( although i despise yellow ) however, that to me would seem too slow and out of place in a fast moving hard hitting Slaaneshi Eldar.
Then a thought just came to me. I could do 2 army variants. First one being my true Eldar” army incorporating the models that i don't think 'fit the bill' for the Chaos Eldar.
It would comprise of something like :
Wraithcastle Eldar:HQ: FW Avatar with spear ( i actually have this model already )
HQ: Eldrad variant with WG or.... Fortune Seer who rides in the falcon with DA's.
T: 10 WG + WL w/ SS + singing spear ( conceal )
T: 5 DA in serpent
E: 6x Quins 5 w/ kisses + Troupe master ( PW ) + Shadow Seer ( kiss )
HS: WL- BL/EML 2x flamers
HS: WL- Wraithsword 2x flamers ( With Eldrad ) or BL/EML 2x flamers ( with fortune seer )
HS: Serpent, EML, Star Engines, HF, stones ect.
Total:
1492Chaos Eldar:Definitely themed options:HQ: Avvy – FW KoS
E: Daemonettes as Quins' or Banshees
Somewhat themed options:HQ: Phoenix Lord – Maugan Ra variant with Quins AND Death Jester
HQ: 'Fallen phoenix army' Ahra ( based of Karandas – uses same stats ) with Scorpions
HQ: Autarch
T: Dire Avengers
T: Guardians
E: Scorpions with Ahra
HS: Dark Reapers
HS: Warwalkers ( considering trying these out, especially if i have a Autarch in the list )
HS: Fire Prisms
Left field themed options:HQ: Seer council? - Not sure how i can manage to throw a spin on these guys to make them believeable in such a themed army. Needs an Autarch + Farseer combo to work imho.
HQ: Farseers? ( Somehow this doesn't sit right with me. Perhaps it's because i believe them to be infallible 99% of the time.)
E: Quins – not sure if i can use them as Solitare variants or not fluff wise.
T/E: Wraithguard too slow ( unless i field them as corrupted wraithbone )
HS: Wraithlords too slow ( unless i field them as corrupted wraithbone )
T: Pathfinders/Rangers ( too static )
That pretty much allows me to use a different style of army for my “Chaos Eldar” although using the Avvy 2x might get a bit boring.
As you can see I'm in a right pickle of a position. I know what i would like to theme my army around. I would like to make use of perhaps a mech army with flanking WW's if i include an Autarch as my 2nd choice. But at the same time, what sort of successful Eldar army doesn't have a seer of some kind? If you have such a list as avvy + tarch, dual tarch, or even with a Phoenix Lord send it forward
Okay, so to wrap it all up:
1) Looking for a competitive themed list that i can take to tourneys as Chaos Eldar, great theme – want to take out best army/theme and comp score.
2) Looking for some guidance on fluff or theme
3) Harlies: Yay or nay?
4) Ideal units and suggestions?
5) Your suggested lists for 1500/1850/2k ( not sure what standard tourney pts are )
So any thoughts/suggestions/ideas/comments/critique is highly appreciated.Thanks in advance,
-Ulfhedinn-