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Thoughts on Eldar Weapons -
[ NB this was written with the 3rd edition
rules in mind ]
If there is one thing Eldar can truly lay a claim to, it is
the Shuriken weapons for which they are famed. Shuriken
weapons fire a hail of monomolecular spinning disks which
slice through flesh and bone and have considerable penetrative
power. The weapon works by using a gravitic accelerator to
create a peristaltic shift in the barrel, a series of high
energy impulses rip slices off the solid ammunition core
thereafter it is accelerated down the barrel at high velocity.
The downside to this technology is the lack of conventional
rifling which reduces the practical range of the weapon. This
is the most bemoaned aspect of the weapon by Eldar players who
get a bit upset that their Guardians have to get into assault
range with them, which is not an ideal place for a Guardian to
be.
Shuriken Pistol (Murehk):
The standard sidearm for most troops, most people do
not consider them useful but I rather like them. With the new
assault rules I often trade the extra CC attack for a S4 AP5
hit, generally because of the extra strength bonus. Like all
pistols it has crap range and you only get one shot or non if
you FoF to get into combat.
Shuriken Catapult (Tuelean):
The big brother of the pistol, unlike all the other
races the main Eldar gun is an assault weapon whereas everyone
else carries rapid fire rifles. This is nice because you get
two shots irrespective of if you moved. The stats for the
weapon are fine and they shred guard like there is no
tomorrow. The main gripe everyone has is the 12" range I
believe the story goes something like this; "guardians
get in range and fire, next turn guardians are assaulted and
die". Whilst Dire Avengers can cope with the counter
assault (sort of), it takes a bit of skill get make these
weapons work for you (maxed out squads help, but is a little
unfluffy ).
Shuriken Cannon (Buanna):
I've used them, I'm always disappointed with them. The range
is dire and they lack punch, and I'd suggest leaving them in
the locker room. Harlequin Death Jesters have a variant of
the weapon which fires shrieker ammunition, the effects of
which are rather amusing to watch.
Ranger Long Rifle: An
improved version of the sniper rifle, wounding on a 4+
regardless of toughness which means that when used in large
groups they are very useful for dropping big gribblies like
Greater Daemons or C'Tan. A pleasant bonus is that when you
roll a 6 to hit it becomes Ap1, I can't ever remember doing
this though, damn dice! They can also be used to pin troops,
which is always useful, despite the increasing number of
fearless models.
Death Spinner: A silly
weapon that didn't do to well in the 2nd to 3rd ed transition,
(I know some people like them, but I don't). They are S6 with
no Ap and they rapid fire, hmmm not a great infantry shredder
really. The fluff says they spin a mesh of monomolecular
filament that entails the enemy literally shredding them
alive, (do Kenwood make something similar?) This doesn't sound
like a rapid fire weapon to me, coupled with the fact that
warp spiders shouldn't stay still. I hope they either make it
an assault or template weapon, probably best used taking out
lightly armoured vehicles, sigh.
Fusion Gun/Firepike: An
interesting weapon which works on the same principle as a
melta gun with the same close range bonuses, but it is S6 (firepike
is S8 but only available to Exarch). Now I don't like the idea
of needing to be within 6" of enemy armour to get the
armour-piercing bonus, as they only have a 12" range. I
remember fondly six fire dragons being 4" from a
dreadnought - they fired and killed it, but the resulting
explosion left three of them dead and the other three legging
it. The low power also has had the result that instead of
their intended function of tank killing they make excellent
Terminator and any other tough good saved creature killers,
and they do this much better than they kill tanks.
Wraithcannon: A very
Eldar weapon, it opens a tiny warp rift tearing the enemy to
bits as it sucks them into the warp. Good against high
toughness creatures at it always wounds on a 4+ and will kill
anything without an inv save. An extra tasty treat is that on
a roll of 6 the model is instantly killed (think Deamon
Prince). It is good against armour too causing a glancing hit
on a 4+, it's just a pity they are only available to wraith
guard, if only fire dragons could have them.
Flamer: Fires highly
flammable liquid over troops unfortunate enough not to duck,
before turning them into a crispy one (duck). Only available
to Storm squads and on the Wraithlord model.
Scatter Laser (Sierbahn):
A peculiar weapon which fires D6 S6 shots I have to say I
never have any luck with them, the combined effort of my
ability to roll 2's inappropriately and power armour makes for
a bad combination. I'm told that if you have enough of these
things on war walkers they are deadly, best used against
swarms though.
Missile Launcher: Or
rocket launcher depending on how superstitious you are, like
it's primitive Imperial counterpart the Eldar weapon can fire
to types of missile a tank splitting Krak round or a infantry
melting Plasma round. The missile launcher is one of the most
expensive Eldar weapons points wise so is best used IMO on
maneuverable and reliable units. For this I would suggest the
Wave Serpent, able to get at side and rear armour with it's
speed and the reroll for twin linked increases the chance of a
hit. Against Tau packed in tight groups these things can be
fun to watch, with a Ap4 blast the greater good turns into
greater gloop.
Bright Lance: The
Imperium has its Lascannon, the Eldar have their bright lance.
Essentially they are both tank killing high energy laser
weapons, but the S8 bright lance looks initially to be
inferior. Fear not gentle reader, for the Eldar weapons comes
into its own against high armoured vehicles as any armour
above 12 counts as 12 (apart from fething monoliths). In short
they make light work of Land Raiders and Leman Russ's
Amusingly they are also an assault weapon, which is needed
really as they have a very middle of the road range. If your
enemy is bringing tanks, bring plenty of bright lances as they
will do their job very well.
Starcannon:
The greatest weapon ever made ever. Most Eldar players have at
some point heard accusations of cheese by fielding these
beauties, but sod it they are the best and they kill those
power marines quickly and efficiently. Essentially a plasma
gun that ignores overheat rules and has a bit more range (and
3 shots - Ed), I suggest either mounting them on war
walkers with guide or on a Vyper for mobility and armour
killing ability (good against whirlwinds in cover). If you
don't have one in your army you are either stupid or the most
balanced and fair list writer ever.
Lasblaster/Hawks Talon:
Eldar laser technology eclipses that of man. The lasblaster is
essentially the same as a lasgun, firing a highly focused beam
of light at the target which creates an explosive impact.
Unlike the lasgun it has Ap value and is an assault 2 weapon,
useful for deep-striking behind enemy lines and taking out
lightly armoured support weapons. The Hawks Talon upgrade
gives you an extra shot at higher strength, which is nice.
Prism Cannon: I have
never seen one, most people that use them will tell you to use
it in conjunction with a Farseer doing the 'guide' thing. I'm
sorry but that is a huge points investment for a one trick
pony. Yes, it has fantastic range and high strength, but doing
as advised costs c200 points for which you could have 3 Vypers
with brightlances. Leave the big laser tank on the shelf it
just ain't worth it.
D-cannon: A lovely
support weapon if you are defending an objective, the highest
strength Eldar weapon and it has a template! Like the
Wraithcannon it utilises superior Eldar knowledge of the warp
to create a miniature warp hole which destroys anything in
it's path. Whilst it lacks the fun 2nd ed disruption table it
can be quite effective, though the range is somewhat short (it
has not been beyond me to guess at max and hope for a
fortuitous scatter roll). Keep it out of sight and it should
survive a little longer.
Shadow weaver: A
strange support weapon, it fires a cloud of monomolecular mesh
into the air which drifts onto the enemy, lopping off limbs
and sowing confusion. Best used in batteries out of sight,
like the Death Spinner the Ap is non existent, though it does
cause pinning checks.
Vibro Cannon:
A stranger support weapon, draw a straight line from the
barrel over multiple units if it hits the units suffers D6
hits. It causes auto glancing on vehicles and when aligned in
batteries it's strength is increased. It has no Ap, but does
cause pinning as the sonic waves shake things apart. In many
ways being hit by one is like sitting in the back of a classic
mini doing rather to fast around country lanes.
Reaper Launcher: The
ultimate marine killer, it has good range, good strength and
good Ap. A bit expensive and shouldn't really be taken against
swarms, the reaper launcher fires a salvo of mini rockets at
it's target resulting in big badda boom. In truth marine
players fear them, until we stopped taking them the first turn
of every game against Dysartes would go as follows (assuming I
got first turn) - Reapers fire at devastator squad on hill,
devastator squad destroyed, fond memories, which all stopped
once he brought a Whirlwind to every game.
And there you have it, a brief run through of the ranged
Eldar weaponry. Be afraid, be very afraid, unless you believe
what the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer has to say :)
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