The WORST Eldar list ever!

Wallie says I have to post my list, so here it is.

Avatar

Farseer with Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stones, Doom and Fortune

8 Striking Scorpions with Exarch, Scorpion's Claw, Stalker and Shadowstrike

8 Howling Banshees with Exarch, Executioner and Acrobatic

6 Fire Dragons with Exarch and Firepike

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, 2 Avenger Shuriken Catapults and Bladestorm

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, 2 Avenger Shuriken Catapults and Bladestorm

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, Power Weapon and Shimmershield and Defend

10 Dire Avengers with Exarch, Power Weapon and Shimmershield and Defend

6 Warp Spiders with Exarch, 2 Death Spinners and Power Blades

6 SwoopingHawks with Exarch and Sunrifle

3 Shining Spears with Exarch and Star Lance

4 Dark Reapers with Exarch, Eldar Missile Launcher and Fast Shot

2000 points

Seriously though, this is my foot-slogging Eldar list. It is designed around the fluff of the Biel-Tan Craftworld. Moreso than any other Craftworld, Biel-Tan has a high concentration of Aspect Warriors. So the jist of the list is one of every aspect, with 4 squads of Dire Avengers as the Core.

The list has very obvious, glaring weaknesses. Almost no anti-tank, zero protection from template weapons. This is the list every mech guard wants to face. So this is a real uphill-battle kind of army. But I've managed to do well with it in friendly games.

The power of the list is not in taking aspect warriors. That is a HUGE misconception. The power of the list is in focused fire and synergy. One of the biggest things to understand when playing, or playing against Eldar, is that the army only functions as one large whole. You can't isolate any one unit and say "Oh this is really powerful. It must win a lot of games for you". Quite the opposite. Any unit in the list, if not supported by at least 2 other units will be wiped off the board before you have a chance to blink.

Where you want to start, in terms of synergy, is to make sure whatever you are going after isn't going to counter-attack. This means shooting the assaulty units and assaulting the shooty units. Always hit them where they are weakest. Team-up 2 Dire Avenger units to make sure a unit is destroyed. Outflank with Scorpions and make sure they have either cover-fire or a counter-assault unit waiting (Banshees are ideal for this). I'm giving simple examples right now. Don't mistake me though. It's not about finding unit X works with unit Y. It's about finding unit X works with unit Y as long as unit Z is in the right place and unit Q has a clear shot. Eldar units are like chess pieces, each unit has a very specific role. Only when you play them all together do you get a functioning army.

I have had other players try my army, and a few others copy my list after seeing my success with it. Yet none of these players have pulled a win out of the list. This is not to tout my supreme commander-ship of all things 40k. Far from it. This is entirely about understanding how the Eldar play and what works and what doesn't. Beyond that, it's just picking targets, isolating and whittling down.

My most frequent opponent is a hard-as-nails, mech and dread-heavy Nurgle Plague Marine list. With Toughness 3 models, this is a very difficult list to overcome. However, like most things, it is overcome-able. Target Priority, especially in this list, can not be stressed enough. If you don't realize early what's going to kill you the fastest, you'll be wiped off the table before you have a chance to fire back.

Of course, everything I've said swings both ways. Understanding the synergy of the Eldar is crucial to their defeat. Realizing that one Eldar unit alone is actually pretty terrible is the key to defeating it. Separate the unit from the rest of the army and pick it apart. Rinse and repeat.

A lot of people will focus on the Avatar, since I use the large Forgeworld model as a center piece. This draws a lot of attention and they will fire most, if not all heavy weapons at it early in the game. It has given my Avatar quite a reputation, though it is one it doesn't rightly deserve. Heavy weapons are not the way to deal with ANY monstrous creature. The best weapon in the game to deal with big guys like him is the all-mighty Bolter. Rapid-fire range, double tap for wounds a-plenty. HOWEVER, you should never expect one unit to be able to walk over rapid-fire and viola, dead MC. If one unit is good, 2 is better, and 3 is best. Instead of looking at it like you are committing 750 points to one 155 point unit, think instead like you are guaranteeing the effect that unit will have on the game is gone after one round of fighting. Those 750 points will go on to take out EASILY 750 points by games-end. Never look at anything in the game in a vacuum. 750 points on one unit guarantees a destroyed unit with ZERO repercussions. That same 750 points then get to do the same thing again, hopefully again with zero repercussions.

Actually, the above advice is just general good advice for playing. Moving your whole army forward for smashy-smashy will only net a victory less than 50% of the time. Picking your enemy apart however, will be mostly successful, as long as you still keep your eye towards the objectives.

In closing, while I think for most play, this is an awful list, especially if you don't know Eldar inside and out. I think the list is fantastic at demonstrating the synergy of the Eldar. This is a list to try if you want to understand the Eldar better. This is NOT a list to take to a tournament. And there are a hundred builds out there that are better for even casual play. This is a fluff list that is good at demonstrating the inner working of the Eldar.

And now you, and knowing is half the battle.