Unconventional warfare: forget the meta game!

One thing that the Eldar army does rather well these days is mess with the meta game. This post will talk a bit about that as well as showcase 2 lists I put together that I will try out in tournaments that demonstrate an unconventional approach to building an Eldar list.


People build their armies to face specific threats (usually) and if they are built to fight specific armies then they can falter at the next curve ball that comes their way. Eldar are, in a sense, a curve ball army (at least the way I build and play them) and simply by bringing Eldar to the table you can throw your opponent for a loop and gain a distinct advantage. Eldar are a minority army these days and not many people remember or know how to fight against them or what their units even do. Anytime I roll up with some D-Cannons or some Wraithguard, people dismiss the army and myself as being terribad and then when they get nearly tabled cry about the OP I put down on the table. Right, so since we all know how OP Wraithgaurd and D-Cannons are, lets move on.

Traps and confusion:

Since people don't know the Eldar as well as they should, they are more apt to walking into your traps and the Eldar are very good at laying out traps. Case in point, people have a disproportionate fear towards certain Eldar units like Fire Dragons, Harlequins, Falcons and Wraithlords, if you regularly field these units you can manipulate your opponents into reacting in a predictable way (like engaging or targeting said units) while letting the rest of your army slide under the Radar (like my Wraithguard/D-Cannons or other scoring units like Gaurdians) which can then spring a surprise attack on an exposed flank or in an unexpected manner which works wonders for the psychological aspect of the game. Opponents seriously get tripped up as something they underestimated causes them to lose the game. In my last tournament, a guy charged my Wraithguard squad with a bloodclaw squad, failed to wipe it out and ended up tying because he ignored my Wraithguard for too long and underestimated their resilience.

So about that Meta game. I feel that the Eldar are a sort of "anti-meta-game" army in that they are not really considered when people sit down to design their armies. Sure balanced armies try to excel and have aspects in their army that can shoot, score and slice and dice a bit in close combat but they are hard pressed to prepare themselves for the focused onslaught an Eldar army can bring to bear on their army. For example, a squad of Fire Dragons and Banshees in Wave Serpents are all fast, deadly and very capable of mowing through things in an unsettling way that an enemy may not be able to handle when you have the rest of your army crammed down their throat so while the enemy has a balanced force, the Eldar's super specialization in specific areas (shooting, mobility, close combat) will overwhelm an enemy line.

Creating an anti-meta game army:

So with all of that said, the main reason for this post is that I wanted to have some fun with my Eldar and design a few lists to try out that defy the meta game and probably would get laughed at by some of those other internet big shots. The following are some fun, crazy Eldar lists that I think could actually work but especially because they are so unconventional, they will likely throw your opponent into a state of confusion as they wonder not only why you took certain things but how those things won you the game.

Don't Fear the Reaper, List 1:

HQ: 195

Maugen Ra: 195

Elites: 212

Harlequins: X8, Shadowseer, 7X kisses, Death Jester: 212

Troops: 416

Dire Avengers: X5: 60
Wave Serpent: Spirit Stones, Shiruken Cannon: 110

Dire Avengers: X5: 60

Wave Serpent: Spirit Stones, Shiruken Cannon: 110

Jetbikes: X3, Shiruken Cannon: 76

Heavy Support: 1026

Dark Reapers: X5, Exarch, Tempest Launcher, Crack Shot: 217

Wave Serpent: Stones, Bright Lance: 145

Dark Reapers: X5, Exarch, Tempest Launcher, Crack Shot: 217

Wave Serpent: Stones, Bright Lance: 145

Dark Reapers: X3, Eldar Missile Launcher, Crack Shot, Fast Shot: 157

Wave Serpent: Stones, Bright Lance: 145

1849

So yes, 3X Dark Reaper units, with Wave Serpents for added anti-tank fire support are the central focus of this list while Maugen Ra+Harlequins protect them (and throw out 9 s6 shots a turn) with some solid scoring from DAVU (dire avengers as vehicle upgrade to make the vehicle scoring) Wave Serpents and a Jetbike squad that either sit back and shoot or zoom forward for some objective grabbing. For those that don't know, a Reaper Launcher was made to kill Space Marines being 48" S5 AP3. The Tempest Launcher is even more potent as it is a Barrage, 36" S4 AP3 H2 Blast weapon fired at BS5 and coupled with Crack Shot can ignore cover saves and re-roll failed to wound rolls. This Exarch eliminates squads on his own let alone with the added firepower of the rest of the squad so these units are my anti infantry shooters. The Dark Reapers with the Eldar Missile Launcher are there for some sneaky anti tank in the form of using Fast Shot to get an extra BS5 S8 shot on an exposed tank or using Crack Shot on a tank hidden by cover or smoke launchers to get a BS5 S8 shot that ignores all cover. Annoying Land Speeder boosted on an objective or have a vehicle you want killed hiding behind a tree? Crack Shot is your answer! The 3 Bright Lance Wave Serpents are there for some AV 13+ support as well as being a means to deploy the Dark Reapers into good positions in Dawn of War style missions where the first turn won't see much shooting anyway so I can go up 12", get out 2" and run D6" into a position that will give me a good field of fire.

Iyanden Raiders Theme, List 2:

HQ: 268

Yriel: 155

Farseer: Fortune, Warding, Witnessing, Spear: 113

Troops: 728

Wraithguard: X10, Spiritseer, Enhance: 396

Dire Avengers: X9, Exarch, Bladestorm, Extra Catapult: 140

Rangers: X5: 96

Rangers: X5: 96

Fast Attack: 420

Vypers: X2 with Scatter Laser, Shiruken Cannon: 140

Vypers: X2 with Scatter Laser, Shiruken Cannon: 140

Vypers: X2 with Scatter Laser, Shiruken Cannon: 140

Heavy Support: 418

D-Cannons: X3, Warlock, Spear: 178

War Walkers: X2, Dual Scatter Lasers: 120

War Walkers: X2, Dual Scatter Lasers: 120

1834

This list just focuses on having Yriel/Farseer and a Wraithguard squad as the armies core with D-Cannons, Dire Avengers moving up in support and the Rangers Infiltrate on objectives in the home field and Vypers/War Walkers engage light armor and infantry/horde units that might give the rest of the army a problem. This is a pretty fluffy "Eldrich/Iyanden raider's" themed force and I think it would be fun and do well. It could use a squad of Harlequins for close support so I could drop a squad of Vypers and a Ranger squad to add a nice sized Harlequin unit to the army for that missing CC punch. 

So with these lists posted, there is an 1850 tournament coming up this weekend and I am torn between which of the 2 to take. I leave it up to anyone reading for some feedback but for now, I am going to lean towards the Reaper list to try out first then tweak the second list a bit and try that one out next. Keep your eyes peeled for a Battle Report (next week sometime) with the list I choose!