Here’s the big one – there are a mah-uh-sive 13 choices in the HQ section and then “bodyguard” choice of Warlocks. 9 of the 13 choices are named characters. And as it’s taken me so long to write this much i’ll be looking at the named characters later!
If you’re just catching up we’ve so far looked at Elites, Troops, Heavy Support and Fast Attack.
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Autarchs
The basic Autarch is a pretty mean choice with a Force Field, loads of grenades and the ability to +1 or -1 to reserve rolls (choosing each time) but the real versatility is in the choice of equipment; he can be a close combat expert, a tank hunter or sit at the back guiding the army.
Three of the choices basically do the same thing but your choice depends on what unit you would like to put them with – they can have a Jetbike and drop in with your Windriders, Shining Spears or Warlocks; Swooping Hawk Wings to join, unsurprisingly, Swooping Hawks (although they WILL scatter!); or a Warp Jump Generator to joining a unit of Warp Spiders. If you’re going to run the Autarch on his own then the only one we’d recommend would be the Jetbike as the Hawk Wings run the risk of scatter and the Warp Jump Generator could jump your Autarch straight out of the game and into the casualty pile.
Sending a T4 jetbike out on his own may sound pretty crazy but Eldar characters have now access to Remnants of Glory, special one-per-army items, and one of these is the Mantle of the Laughing God – this means your Autarch loses the Independent Character rule but gains Shrouding, Stealth, Hit & Run and, best of all, can re-roll cover saves. That combination means your Autarch will have a 2+ re-rollable cover save! Just give him a fusion gun and spend the game tank hunting – most players won’t want to waste the shots on him! A bit riskier is tooling up for close combat with a Laser Lance and Mandiblasters and picking on weaker units – the Mandiblasters give an attack, the Jetbike has Hammer of Wrath and the Autarch will have 5 S6 AP3 Attacks. Then as he’s not an independent character he can’t be challenged.
There are loads of other options – you can pretty much make a super-Exarch for any of Aspects. We could talk about them forever but we have quite a few choices to get on with…
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The Avatar of Khaine
The Avatar has largely improved and he’s once again immune to flame and melta weapons like the good old second edition days. The downside is his invulnerable save has taken a hit and his points cost has sky-rocketed.
His stats reflect that of an awakened (and presumably a little pissed!) god – WS10, BS10 and I10 are all pretty inspiring and 5 wounds means he’ll be on the table for a while. A nice touch is that he can take a nice chunk of the Exarch skills, our favourite is Fast Shot as it makes The Wailing Doom a two-shot meltagun.
Spiritseer
Spritseers are probably the best choice if you’re after a cheap HQ choice. They’re the same cost as an Autarch and also have a 4+ Invulnerable save but come with a Witch Staff and psychic powers.
They get access to the Runes of Battle like Warlocks but unlike Warlocks they are an independent character and so can join any unit. This is really handy as the Runes of Battle can give units a nice boost whether it’s better WS and I or a skill such as Shrouding.
Another great bonus of Spiritseers is that they make Wraithguard and Wraithblades troop choices. We’ve already looked at these units in our look at Elites where we liked them but they were slightly lacking, especially the Wraithblades. The addition of a Spritseer to a unit of Wraithblades can give them the small boost that they need. Even better Spiritseers also have Spirit Mark – they can nominate an enemy unit within 12” and all Wraith attacks against them can re-roll 1’s to hit.
Farseers
This is probably the go-to choice for Eldar. In this Codex they’ve gotten both better and worse. Better as they are now level 3 and although their points have increased you get more for your money. Worse as
The Witch Helm allows you to ignore a Perils of the Warp by expending a Warp Charge – this makes the Farseer a lot more reliable when using their own powers and as an extra bonus gives them some extra protection against Grey Knight Mindstrike Missiles as they can expend points in their opponents turn.
The Singing Spear is now a better choice. It used to be that you’d lose an extra attack as it was two-handed but Farseers have clearly spent the last seven years practising and can now use it one-handed. This gives the Farseer a S9 ranged attack which is well worth the 5 points.
The psychic powers are something of a mixed bag. Mind War is ok but costs two Warp Charge points, Executioner is ok but you’ll do a lot more damage in the long run with the other abilities and Death Mission is sort of fun as it turns your Farseer into a combat machine but the odds are pretty good you’re going to kill yourself before you get near your opponent. Eldritch Storm is ok but again is two Warp Charges.
The best powers are the ones that let the Farseer buff other units. With only a few powers you want to get the best mix and make the most of the Mastery Level 3: -
Roll on the Fate psychic chart – if you get Doom or Fortune you keep it and roll again. Unless you get the other one then swap the next power for Guide. Then select from the Divination list and swap for Prescience.
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Warlocks
Warlocks are used in the same way as Space Wolves Wolf Guard – you buy up to ten of them and then either field them in a single unit or allocate them out to different units as super-Sergeants. The units that they can be allocated to are a little limited – they can join Jetbike Squads,Vaul Support Batteries or either type of Guardian Squad.
They can then use their psychic powers, chosen from the Runes of Battle discipline. Basically these are all powers that grant a small buff to the unit, for example Shrouding or +1WS & +1 Initiative. Alternatively each power can be used as a malediction that has the opposite effect – so an enemy unit will lose Shrouding or have a -1 WS & -1 Initiative penalty. The buffs always affect the unit the Warlock is with the exception of one that can heal a model back up – rather useful for keeping your Wraith knights going for longer. But that’s not the primaris power so you’ve only got a 1 in 6 chance of getting it.
Even worse Warlock powers are generated AFTER you allocate them to a unit. So you could see your artillery getting close combat bonuses or your Guardians in transport gaining Shrouding. Leadership 8 doesn’t really help either.
The bonuses do lend themselves well to Jetbikes – the Primaris power gives you Shrouding so those Jink saves become a lot better. A unit of Warlocks with Jetbikes is also a strong choice and a nice bodyguard for an Autarch or Farseer. Run like this they are 50 points apiece. A better choice might be a unit of Windriders with Warlock with the attached character.
Conclusion
The choice of HQ depends on the rest of your army – the only choices that can really stand alone are an Autarch with Mantle of the Laughing God and the Avatar, both tough choices. The others, as with most Eldar units, work best in synergy with other units – the Farseer is great for making your shooting units even more deadly, the Spiritseer, rather obviously, is perfect for leading Wraith armies and the Autarchs can give a big boost to flyers or deep striking units by making them much more reliable. With this in mind there are no bad HQ choices but the choice must be made carefully.