Post by The Supreme Emissary on Feb 16, 2017 14:12:07 GMT -5
The new Eldar/Aeldari sub-faction brings a lot to the table and injects new ways to play your favorite space elves. Overall there's a lot of subtlety to this force, a lot of freedom and a lot of power. It's Eldar cheese at its best and it's beautiful! The only guys who get specifically screwed are the Haemonculus covens and your DEldar can't share their skimmers as readily as you'd probably like.
The first big point is that a Ynnari army brings Craftworld, Dark and Harlequins into one faction. This settles the whole Battle Brother issues that have interfered with mixed Eldar armies in the past, bringing the cheese potential to full power.
The next point is the removal of Battle Focus, Ancient Doom and Power from Pain in exchange for Soulburst. This trade has proven to be more than fair in terms of performance power and relative simplicity of play.
Soulburst
If ANY unit is destroyed in 7" of a non-vehicle Ynnari unit, that unit can IMMEDIATLY make a Soulburst action IF they are not already locked in combat. This would let them have another movement phase, shooting phase or to make a charge. That is a HUGE buff and emphasizes power units that can kill most things in one shot and cheap minimum units that can spread out and die easily enough. It also may give your opponent pause to think about how badly they want to engage your units and whether they want to leave that last model standing or not. It also means that Ynnari want to remain relatively close together, operate in clusters or emphasize those fast movers of yours. This also makes the army infantry oriented.
The Yncarne
Your new Avatar at first glance doesn't look as impressive for the points as Khaine. BUT once you get those psychic powers and Ynnari synergy in play the point cost makes a lot more sense. Her melee is as good as you could want. No shooting ability means you need your psychic abilities for ranged attacks so think hard about that. Her big ability is the teleportation. Being able to appear from reserves on turn 1 if something dies makes minimum opening board presence much much safer. Being able to teleport out of close combat can be very useful to escape a threat or to set up shooting kill zones. If you're going to play Ynnari you really really really need to try to bring her. Adding the 12" Fearless and FNP bubble almost guarantees that she will be useful no matter where she is. Her self healing ability NEEDS Aeldari nearby to die. She's not indestructible so try to keep some souls nearby to feed her.
Yvraine
She is a super up Succubus with a new biker base, mastery 3 and a self-heal ability like the avatar. Her ability to increase her mastery level to 4 makes her very attractive to magic loving players. Place her in a maxed out Seer Council with Eldrad Ulthran and work your voo-doo! SHe has no shooting ability which is kind of a waste of that BS8. In melee however she is as lethal as they come, keeping in line with the DEldar style. By herself she's a competent psyker and more than capable fighter but once she's bolstered by a Ynnari unit she starts showing her full potential. She only maxes out once you add the Visarch to her unit. He effectively adds 3 more wounds to her and allows 2 chances for self-healing.
The Visarch
An Archon with a Two-handed relic sword who always gets a warlord trait. His self healing ability is the same as Yvraine's but his Sv3+ gives him a SLIGHTLY greater chance of using it. His ability to add up to 3 more Attacks to his profile requires Aeldari Characters to perish nearby. His profile describes a melee fighter that is a half-step below Yvraine but with Rampage he has the potential to swing 11 times at I7 and AP2. Do not underestimate him. His relic's Silence ability suggests some potential synergies with terror lists but generally may help him get a sweep off.
Triumverate of Ynnead 655p
So you want to field your new shiny box huh? good idea! Your 3 new models could get +1 to their self healing (Yncarne 2+, Yvraine & Visarch 3+). But it's really about the Fearless. The idea is that Yvraine and the Visarch together can grant a 12" Fearless bubble like the Avatar. BUT if you have all 3 on the table (that means not embarked on their skimmers) then all your Ynnari gain Fearless. That can be a really big deal if your army gets spread out. HOWEVER you may find the avatar's persistent presence covers most of your needs. And your Wraiths, you brought those right? of coarse you did, your wraiths have Fearless built in, and remember it spreads to the characters that join them.
Soulbound Vanguard 240p
Ok this one is interesting. Adding +1BS and WS to 1-2 units is sweet. Your Dire Avengers will appreciate it, the wyches will probably die before they get a return on it and the Incubi are already hitting most things on 3s and lack shooting so they don't care so much, which is unfortunate because they are the natural choice for your new characters to join! Furious charge for being in soul burst range isn't a bad idea at all. Wyches could sure use it, add it to their combat drugs. Dire Avenger Exarchs could certainly use it in a pinch. But those Incubi are going to love it! But all of that is nothing compared to the 14" Soulburst range. Moving your Avengers faster potentially saves you points by not needing those damnable Wave Serpents. Shooting twice with them is ok too. Wyches just want to get where they're going fast and die. If you need a lot of poison shooting you bring kabalites, and you brought kabalites already right? Wyches don't move any better than anyone else and their melee isn't even noteworthy compared to other options. They're a Troop (ObSec) or they're a sacrifice to generate a Soulburst. Incubi need to be mounted to zip into assault and they can't shoot so really they are one of the few units you have that are going to care more about getting that early/interrupt charge.
Aeldari Bladehost
Forget the whole Hatred and Preferred Enemy thing, just put it out of your mind. You bring this formation so that all 6 units get to Soulburst together. That means likely anyone whose not currently locked in combat is either going to move or shoot. Troupes and Black Guardians are premium units, paper thin that can potentially cause some devastating shooting damage. In melee your Troupes are still the premium option while your storm/black guardians are even more chump than your wyches. So before you go YAY free soulbursts! think hard about whose making that move, shot or charge. Now the OTHER side of this that needs to be mentioned is this effect does not have a range limit. SO you can afford to spread out a bit.
Ynnead's Net 249p
Eldar Jetbikes are already excellent units but Soulbursting bikes are just brutal! This formation buffs the warlock in a minor way that might become useful in very small point games. It's the ability to bring all 4 units in on the same reserve roll, getting to re-roll that reserve roll, and having them come in on all 4 table edges that makes this formation valuable to you. It also means deployment zones in any given mission become much more important to you. It also means you have to pay extra attention to your unit placement to maintain soulburst coverage, otherwise your fancy bikes may not get to operate at full power. Yes this means Scatterbikes outflanking to steal your objective or Reavers hitting you with Lance+Melta in your biggest vehicles back arc. This could constitute the bulk of a formidable army all by itself.
Whispering Ghosthall
Ok the only question here is do you want to bring this or a Wraithhost? The two formations are comparable in points so it's not like this one is coming in on the cheap. And Fear at -2Ld is squat when you're already generally hitting on 3s and 4s anyway, even less relevant if all your wraiths zap their enemies from existence anyway! You want a Farseer without using an HQ slot? there are much better other formations. You want a Spiritseer without an HQ slot? Bring the Wraith Host and re-roll all your misses. You want a Shadowseer without using an Elite slot? The Heroes' Path, walk it. Seriously it's gotta be the inclusion of a Wraithknight that becomes the determining factor here.
Reborn Warhost Detachment
At the end of the day this is the heart of your Ynnari army. Ignoring 25% shooting deaths can be a big deal for your minimum units and outliers if they don't have access to Fearless. Stubborn is…ehh. But the money is on the additional Soulburst. That's awesome! The wording for the minimum 7 units begs additional scrutiny, but for now it appears just having 7+ units in your list at the start of the game is all you need. This would seem to matter more in small games where Soulburst is already quite powerful…
This is really where your DEldar is going to come from and probably your new Black Guardians. The HQ and Elite slots are choked with choices struggling for your attention.
Ynnari Warlord Traits
The spread here is actually quite good! The gag is the one you want most is the 14" Soulburst. Now the Soulbound Vanguard comes with that built in and Yvraine has that as her built in warlord trait. This means she has to be your warlord to use it. The Visarch always gets his but he still has to roll and honestly, they all work for him but the psyker option which can be re-rolled. Your other options, your Archons, your Autarchs, etc. they love the list just as much
Revenant Discipline
The new Psychic discipline has some interesting and subtle quirks to it.
The Primaris Power at best is a 18" S6 AP2 Ignores cover, Precision shot, that doesn't affect vehicles and auto hits. NOT too shabby for WC1. This would likely constitute your Avatar's main shooting equivalent attack.
Having a 7" bubble that gives your units a 6++ is not a bad idea. Your infantry is mostly flimsy and wants to try to stay in Soulburst range so you could affect multiple units nearby. AND it's ALL units so that's your paper bag vehicles too.
The 9" nova just by virtue of being AP2 and ignores cover should make your opponent sweat. Pinning might help, 2d6 hits demands attention. Being S3 you probably won't wipe out whole enemy units BUT you this is not a primary weapon type power, it's for harassment.
For WC2 you can compel a Soulburst action. If THIS was the Primaris power, every psyker in your army would take it and nothing else.
Buffing a unit +1 WS, BS, I, A, Ld and gain Adamantium Will. Wow, what does that mean in practice? You're already hitting on 3s most time, you're almost always hitting first. Your dedicated melee units will love the extra swings and your dedicated shooters would love to hit on 2s but they're not going to assault. With Fearless being handed out the Ld boost becomes less meaningful. It is STILL a fantastic buff and you should use it.
Unbind Souls is an odd duck. You have to roll to hit every model in the target unit, which is cool. S4 gives you a decent chance to hurt infantry units. If you do manage to kill a model you can Soulburst a buddy nearby. Now the 14" booster doesn't work here but goosing one of your other units in the psychic phase from one model as opposed to one unit makes it worth the effort.
The Gaze is WC3 12" 10 1 single shot that allows no saves. You still have to roll to hit and you have a good chance of that. Like the Primaris its a ranged weapon option that will knock down all comers, so risk the peril and sink the shot!
Artefacts of the Ynnari
Your new relics are a fluffy bag of trinkets.
Self heal for the death of enemy models. Ok in practice that's not bad since it doesn't hinge on Aeldari deaths. BUT think about whose going to use it.
If you're fighting an Aeldari enemy you get another self heal options.
Giving your character Eternal Warrior, FNP and IWND in exchange for loss of IC could make for a tough solo. However, the loss of IC doesn't mean they can't be in a unit. Example: Seer Council
Blind, counter-attack and night vision seems odd for 30p.
Now the new pistol is a nifty doodad. Poison2, Bladestorm for rending-ish and forcing a morale check for 10p can combo nicely with a terror list.
Finally you have a single AP2 Instant Death blast grenade…with S3…for 25p. I'm sure there's a use for it with your high BS, just think hard.
Forgeworld
Ok so RAW says FW is mostly blocked. Tantalus and Wraithknight variants have an in.
RAI and fluff wise FW models should be allowed in their entirety as well as Corsairs. Only the Haemonculae types are banned expressly by rules and by the fluff.
Craftworld
Autarchs, Seers, Aspect Warriors, Wraith and Formations. These are your best offerings and may constitute the core of your Ynnari army. You got the big psykers here as well as unique disciplines. Aspect warriors do their specific jobs very well and they cover all your slots so you will have room for them somewhere and a few formation options for good measure. This is also where your wraiths come in and serve as the greatest source of tear jerking power.
Dark Eldar
Archon + Webway Portal, Kabalites, Raiders, Venome. Super cheap and super effective. The Webway portal is reason enough to bring an archon. The big combo is perfectly deep striking a full unit of Wraithguard into the most sensitive spot on the table and making enemy units disappear. With should burst they are pretty much guaranteed to shoot twice after they land, making this a NO BRAINER! Especially when soul burst ranges are so important. The cheap Kabalites make for the best options for your compulsory Troop slots. Get some free points and upgrade them to true born and add some extra vehicle hunting to your army.
Harlequins
Shadowseers are your most no brainer option. The rest are premium units that can become highly effective glass cannons, but you pay accordingly. The Harlies have their own Psychic discipline and the Shadowseer is cheap AND effective. You just have to choose if you take her as an Elite slot or as part of a formation.
Corsairs
Black Guardians
Newly revived they constitute a force of their own. They trade certain options for the ability to deep strike without scattering. GREAT! but they have to land 9"+ away from any enemies. Ehhh that could be a problem. They're all elites which is bad for you. Their new detachment cannot be included in a proper Ynnari force which is extra bad for you.
The first big point is that a Ynnari army brings Craftworld, Dark and Harlequins into one faction. This settles the whole Battle Brother issues that have interfered with mixed Eldar armies in the past, bringing the cheese potential to full power.
The next point is the removal of Battle Focus, Ancient Doom and Power from Pain in exchange for Soulburst. This trade has proven to be more than fair in terms of performance power and relative simplicity of play.
Soulburst
If ANY unit is destroyed in 7" of a non-vehicle Ynnari unit, that unit can IMMEDIATLY make a Soulburst action IF they are not already locked in combat. This would let them have another movement phase, shooting phase or to make a charge. That is a HUGE buff and emphasizes power units that can kill most things in one shot and cheap minimum units that can spread out and die easily enough. It also may give your opponent pause to think about how badly they want to engage your units and whether they want to leave that last model standing or not. It also means that Ynnari want to remain relatively close together, operate in clusters or emphasize those fast movers of yours. This also makes the army infantry oriented.
The Yncarne
Your new Avatar at first glance doesn't look as impressive for the points as Khaine. BUT once you get those psychic powers and Ynnari synergy in play the point cost makes a lot more sense. Her melee is as good as you could want. No shooting ability means you need your psychic abilities for ranged attacks so think hard about that. Her big ability is the teleportation. Being able to appear from reserves on turn 1 if something dies makes minimum opening board presence much much safer. Being able to teleport out of close combat can be very useful to escape a threat or to set up shooting kill zones. If you're going to play Ynnari you really really really need to try to bring her. Adding the 12" Fearless and FNP bubble almost guarantees that she will be useful no matter where she is. Her self healing ability NEEDS Aeldari nearby to die. She's not indestructible so try to keep some souls nearby to feed her.
Yvraine
She is a super up Succubus with a new biker base, mastery 3 and a self-heal ability like the avatar. Her ability to increase her mastery level to 4 makes her very attractive to magic loving players. Place her in a maxed out Seer Council with Eldrad Ulthran and work your voo-doo! SHe has no shooting ability which is kind of a waste of that BS8. In melee however she is as lethal as they come, keeping in line with the DEldar style. By herself she's a competent psyker and more than capable fighter but once she's bolstered by a Ynnari unit she starts showing her full potential. She only maxes out once you add the Visarch to her unit. He effectively adds 3 more wounds to her and allows 2 chances for self-healing.
The Visarch
An Archon with a Two-handed relic sword who always gets a warlord trait. His self healing ability is the same as Yvraine's but his Sv3+ gives him a SLIGHTLY greater chance of using it. His ability to add up to 3 more Attacks to his profile requires Aeldari Characters to perish nearby. His profile describes a melee fighter that is a half-step below Yvraine but with Rampage he has the potential to swing 11 times at I7 and AP2. Do not underestimate him. His relic's Silence ability suggests some potential synergies with terror lists but generally may help him get a sweep off.
Triumverate of Ynnead 655p
So you want to field your new shiny box huh? good idea! Your 3 new models could get +1 to their self healing (Yncarne 2+, Yvraine & Visarch 3+). But it's really about the Fearless. The idea is that Yvraine and the Visarch together can grant a 12" Fearless bubble like the Avatar. BUT if you have all 3 on the table (that means not embarked on their skimmers) then all your Ynnari gain Fearless. That can be a really big deal if your army gets spread out. HOWEVER you may find the avatar's persistent presence covers most of your needs. And your Wraiths, you brought those right? of coarse you did, your wraiths have Fearless built in, and remember it spreads to the characters that join them.
Soulbound Vanguard 240p
Ok this one is interesting. Adding +1BS and WS to 1-2 units is sweet. Your Dire Avengers will appreciate it, the wyches will probably die before they get a return on it and the Incubi are already hitting most things on 3s and lack shooting so they don't care so much, which is unfortunate because they are the natural choice for your new characters to join! Furious charge for being in soul burst range isn't a bad idea at all. Wyches could sure use it, add it to their combat drugs. Dire Avenger Exarchs could certainly use it in a pinch. But those Incubi are going to love it! But all of that is nothing compared to the 14" Soulburst range. Moving your Avengers faster potentially saves you points by not needing those damnable Wave Serpents. Shooting twice with them is ok too. Wyches just want to get where they're going fast and die. If you need a lot of poison shooting you bring kabalites, and you brought kabalites already right? Wyches don't move any better than anyone else and their melee isn't even noteworthy compared to other options. They're a Troop (ObSec) or they're a sacrifice to generate a Soulburst. Incubi need to be mounted to zip into assault and they can't shoot so really they are one of the few units you have that are going to care more about getting that early/interrupt charge.
Aeldari Bladehost
Forget the whole Hatred and Preferred Enemy thing, just put it out of your mind. You bring this formation so that all 6 units get to Soulburst together. That means likely anyone whose not currently locked in combat is either going to move or shoot. Troupes and Black Guardians are premium units, paper thin that can potentially cause some devastating shooting damage. In melee your Troupes are still the premium option while your storm/black guardians are even more chump than your wyches. So before you go YAY free soulbursts! think hard about whose making that move, shot or charge. Now the OTHER side of this that needs to be mentioned is this effect does not have a range limit. SO you can afford to spread out a bit.
Ynnead's Net 249p
Eldar Jetbikes are already excellent units but Soulbursting bikes are just brutal! This formation buffs the warlock in a minor way that might become useful in very small point games. It's the ability to bring all 4 units in on the same reserve roll, getting to re-roll that reserve roll, and having them come in on all 4 table edges that makes this formation valuable to you. It also means deployment zones in any given mission become much more important to you. It also means you have to pay extra attention to your unit placement to maintain soulburst coverage, otherwise your fancy bikes may not get to operate at full power. Yes this means Scatterbikes outflanking to steal your objective or Reavers hitting you with Lance+Melta in your biggest vehicles back arc. This could constitute the bulk of a formidable army all by itself.
Whispering Ghosthall
Ok the only question here is do you want to bring this or a Wraithhost? The two formations are comparable in points so it's not like this one is coming in on the cheap. And Fear at -2Ld is squat when you're already generally hitting on 3s and 4s anyway, even less relevant if all your wraiths zap their enemies from existence anyway! You want a Farseer without using an HQ slot? there are much better other formations. You want a Spiritseer without an HQ slot? Bring the Wraith Host and re-roll all your misses. You want a Shadowseer without using an Elite slot? The Heroes' Path, walk it. Seriously it's gotta be the inclusion of a Wraithknight that becomes the determining factor here.
Reborn Warhost Detachment
At the end of the day this is the heart of your Ynnari army. Ignoring 25% shooting deaths can be a big deal for your minimum units and outliers if they don't have access to Fearless. Stubborn is…ehh. But the money is on the additional Soulburst. That's awesome! The wording for the minimum 7 units begs additional scrutiny, but for now it appears just having 7+ units in your list at the start of the game is all you need. This would seem to matter more in small games where Soulburst is already quite powerful…
This is really where your DEldar is going to come from and probably your new Black Guardians. The HQ and Elite slots are choked with choices struggling for your attention.
Ynnari Warlord Traits
The spread here is actually quite good! The gag is the one you want most is the 14" Soulburst. Now the Soulbound Vanguard comes with that built in and Yvraine has that as her built in warlord trait. This means she has to be your warlord to use it. The Visarch always gets his but he still has to roll and honestly, they all work for him but the psyker option which can be re-rolled. Your other options, your Archons, your Autarchs, etc. they love the list just as much
Revenant Discipline
The new Psychic discipline has some interesting and subtle quirks to it.
The Primaris Power at best is a 18" S6 AP2 Ignores cover, Precision shot, that doesn't affect vehicles and auto hits. NOT too shabby for WC1. This would likely constitute your Avatar's main shooting equivalent attack.
Having a 7" bubble that gives your units a 6++ is not a bad idea. Your infantry is mostly flimsy and wants to try to stay in Soulburst range so you could affect multiple units nearby. AND it's ALL units so that's your paper bag vehicles too.
The 9" nova just by virtue of being AP2 and ignores cover should make your opponent sweat. Pinning might help, 2d6 hits demands attention. Being S3 you probably won't wipe out whole enemy units BUT you this is not a primary weapon type power, it's for harassment.
For WC2 you can compel a Soulburst action. If THIS was the Primaris power, every psyker in your army would take it and nothing else.
Buffing a unit +1 WS, BS, I, A, Ld and gain Adamantium Will. Wow, what does that mean in practice? You're already hitting on 3s most time, you're almost always hitting first. Your dedicated melee units will love the extra swings and your dedicated shooters would love to hit on 2s but they're not going to assault. With Fearless being handed out the Ld boost becomes less meaningful. It is STILL a fantastic buff and you should use it.
Unbind Souls is an odd duck. You have to roll to hit every model in the target unit, which is cool. S4 gives you a decent chance to hurt infantry units. If you do manage to kill a model you can Soulburst a buddy nearby. Now the 14" booster doesn't work here but goosing one of your other units in the psychic phase from one model as opposed to one unit makes it worth the effort.
The Gaze is WC3 12" 10 1 single shot that allows no saves. You still have to roll to hit and you have a good chance of that. Like the Primaris its a ranged weapon option that will knock down all comers, so risk the peril and sink the shot!
Artefacts of the Ynnari
Your new relics are a fluffy bag of trinkets.
Self heal for the death of enemy models. Ok in practice that's not bad since it doesn't hinge on Aeldari deaths. BUT think about whose going to use it.
If you're fighting an Aeldari enemy you get another self heal options.
Giving your character Eternal Warrior, FNP and IWND in exchange for loss of IC could make for a tough solo. However, the loss of IC doesn't mean they can't be in a unit. Example: Seer Council
Blind, counter-attack and night vision seems odd for 30p.
Now the new pistol is a nifty doodad. Poison2, Bladestorm for rending-ish and forcing a morale check for 10p can combo nicely with a terror list.
Finally you have a single AP2 Instant Death blast grenade…with S3…for 25p. I'm sure there's a use for it with your high BS, just think hard.
Forgeworld
Ok so RAW says FW is mostly blocked. Tantalus and Wraithknight variants have an in.
RAI and fluff wise FW models should be allowed in their entirety as well as Corsairs. Only the Haemonculae types are banned expressly by rules and by the fluff.
Craftworld
Autarchs, Seers, Aspect Warriors, Wraith and Formations. These are your best offerings and may constitute the core of your Ynnari army. You got the big psykers here as well as unique disciplines. Aspect warriors do their specific jobs very well and they cover all your slots so you will have room for them somewhere and a few formation options for good measure. This is also where your wraiths come in and serve as the greatest source of tear jerking power.
Dark Eldar
Archon + Webway Portal, Kabalites, Raiders, Venome. Super cheap and super effective. The Webway portal is reason enough to bring an archon. The big combo is perfectly deep striking a full unit of Wraithguard into the most sensitive spot on the table and making enemy units disappear. With should burst they are pretty much guaranteed to shoot twice after they land, making this a NO BRAINER! Especially when soul burst ranges are so important. The cheap Kabalites make for the best options for your compulsory Troop slots. Get some free points and upgrade them to true born and add some extra vehicle hunting to your army.
Harlequins
Shadowseers are your most no brainer option. The rest are premium units that can become highly effective glass cannons, but you pay accordingly. The Harlies have their own Psychic discipline and the Shadowseer is cheap AND effective. You just have to choose if you take her as an Elite slot or as part of a formation.
Corsairs
Black Guardians
Newly revived they constitute a force of their own. They trade certain options for the ability to deep strike without scattering. GREAT! but they have to land 9"+ away from any enemies. Ehhh that could be a problem. They're all elites which is bad for you. Their new detachment cannot be included in a proper Ynnari force which is extra bad for you.