break from marines to go craftworlds

[MarshalMittermeier]

hey all. so, i have been playing 40k since late 3rd edition, mainly as a Black Templars player.

 

i want to take a break from collecting black templars now. i am almost restarting the hobby after leaving in 7th, have abysmally few 9th ed games due to covid. 

 

and see, i ALWAYS felt drawn to craftworld eldar. the model aesthetic and lore about a dying race of manipulative "kinda-"heroic psykers with the dark past with slaanesh, this is all awesome for me.

 

HOWEVER.

1. i need help. i am extremely new in 9th ed. been reading a LOT about meta, but i am open to admit you guys have hugely more practice and knowledge.

 

2. "do it right". i will have some constraints (i want to play a  force that will have at least *some* mechanized elements) but other than that, i want my army to gear more towards competitive. so, for example, i wont buy "big boxes/ebay sales of models i dont want just to save money". better to start slow and end up with the army i want .

 

3. i am VERY well aware of craftworlds' below average competitive stats right now, faction glicko scores, etc, and i do not care. i love tournaments, but i don't buy an army for "1 year' worth of meta", thats just dumb IMHO, i am not rich. i want to slowly build up and invest in 1-2 boxes per month, and that means i have lots of time to grow as a player until a new codex comes out( it will eventually) where i will have a better idea of what's what. in my many years of 40k, whoever started an army due to "meta" has regretted it.

 

so, for starters, any initial suggestions regarding any craftworld blogs/videos etc that could help me?

Edited May 19, 2021 by MarshalMittermeier

[Marshal Loss]

This will be of use! It has been updated for 9th.

[Karhedron]

Welcome to the Path!

 

After the Imperium, the Eldar are one of the most richly detailed races in 40K. They also have one of the most diverse range of units with everything from fast and fragile glass cannon units like Howling Banshees to towering Wraith constructs.

 

This is handy as it means no matter that the state of the game, Eldar usually have some decent units somewhere in their lineup to be competitive. The downside is that we are currently still using an 8th edition codex and seem a bit behind the curve at the moment. While we were very good at playing murderball in 8th edition, we are not quite so good at taking and holding Objectives in 9th.

 

The Dark Eldar recently got a new codex that looks very competitive so I have every faith that we will get similar treatment. However it might be wise to start slowly and just pick up units you love for the looks or lore. If you try to work purely on what you think will be competitive in the meta, you may find your choices were not so good once the new codex comes out.

 

In the meantime, enjoy painting and playing and don't forget to post some pics of your work.

[TrawlingCleaner]

Welcome Mittermeier! I'm mainly in the same boat as you in that I love the competitive side of 40k but I'm in it for the army not the meta. I paint and build units that I like and add them to my army and hope they work

Currently Mech builds are the meta for Craftworlds and honestly seem to be one of the few ways to run them. CW (and eldar in general) have such fragile troops that absolutely must have transports to be kept safe.

 

Meta, most picked or generally good units tend to include:

Warwalkers: Fast, outflanking weapons platforms that are durable and can be taken in units of 3 (meaning you can take 9 total if you're so inclined)

Support Platforms: Units that don't need line of sight are great in 9th, usually backfield objective holders are some of the weaker units

Hornets: Forgeworld unit, very fast good firepower

Farseers: Some of the best psykers in the game, IMO you should always make room for at least one Farseer, usually take on bike for mobility

Wave Serpents: At one point in 8th, the number one Transport and in the running for number one vehicle in the game. It took a bit of points increase and the game got a bit killier so isn't top dog but they are very tough

Wraithblades: specifcally with axes and shields 4+ invlun boostable to 3+ on a T6 body with 3W, they're extremely tough and generally very time consuming to kill. They can also slap in combat

Dire Avengers: Seen as the least taxing troops unit in the codex, considered bad but personally they're great for chaff clearance

Shining Spears: Fast, Hard hitting Cavalry unit. You can give the Exarch a 3+ Invuln and tank all the scary dmg on them. Their shooting as a unit, while short range is very reliable and great for killing marines

Autarch on Bike: Basically a cruise missile that you fire at units, characters or smaller vehicles that you want dead

Personally a case can be made for Falcon tanks as their Pulse lasers are easily one of the best ranged weapons CWE have access to

 

Everything else is mostly ignored but personally I think Howling Banshees are great, Fire Prisms are pretty great too.

 

Generally the go to for Craftworld Trait is one of the traits from the Blood of the Phoenix book - Expert Crafters, any Craftworld list that you see on Goonhammer or a competitve list featuring CWE will have this trait.

 

The other thing to consider is also not just what is considered meta for tournaments but also what your meta is and how familiar you are with your list/units. Someone who chases the meta may not be as experienced as you are with your list you know inside and out.

 

For content, I highly recommend Tabletop tactics, their freeview content that feature Craftworlds are extremely useful in seeing how the army plays.

 

Most of all, enjoy!

[Urkh]

I keep seeing more and more of us templar players posting in this forum, hahaha!

[MarshalMittermeier]

emergency question:

 

i want wraithblades and farseer, and i'd definitely like some war walkers. 

what about the start collecting box?

can i build wraithblades with it, or it is just wrathguard/sword wraithblades without axes?

 

if its a good kit, then because it costs almost the same as farseer + wraithblades, the warwalker and wraithlord as free models will be cool.

but if it doesnt have axes and i cannot build the wraithblades i want, maybe i should go separate purchases.

 

what about warwalker heavy weapons? what options does it have? 1x each?

[TrawlingCleaner]

You can build Wraithblades or wraithguard as they are a dual kit. It has all the options for them.

You only get one set of each weapon option from the warwalker kit but you also get the same amount using the same mount from the Wraithlord kit, so you can give the Warwalker two of the same weapons using the Wraithlord kit.

 

I personally recommend 2 Star Cannons on the Warwalkers, they're cheap and reliable

[MarshalMittermeier]

You can build Wraithblades or wraithguard as they are a dual kit. It has all the options for them.

You only get one set of each weapon option from the warwalker kit but you also get the same amount using the same mount from the Wraithlord kit, so you can give the Warwalker two of the same weapons using the Wraithlord kit.

 

I personally recommend 2 Star Cannons on the Warwalkers, they're cheap and reliable

 great help, exactly what i needed to hear :) 

so for war walker + wraithblades + farseer, yes i will take the box.

the wraithlord isnt a model i want too much, but for free ofc its awesome.

[TrawlingCleaner]

No worries at all, Wraithlords are really cool models and I love using them but they can be very underwhelming. Other people might have had more/better experience with them

[Doctor Perils]

I find the Wraithlord a gorgeous enough model to want it even if it doesn't work well on tabletop - if anything, I'm considering the big eldar box despite not being so interested by the farseer nor the walker ^^

[Karhedron]

The start collecting box is pretty good value. I actually quite like the Wraithlord as he has a movement of 8" and T8. He is also surprisingly cheap. This means he can make quite an effective distraction unit. Tool him out with 2 Shurican cannons so it can Advance and still fire and give it a Ghost glaive so it can pose a good threat in melee then run it at the enemy. This works well if used with Grav tanks. If your opponent focuses on the tanks, he risks letting a T8 monster start chewing through his lines. If he focuses on the Wraithlord, your Tanks can keep shooting at him and deliver their cargoes.

[MarshalMittermeier]

i am very close to making final decisions- in fact, i forgot today stores was closed in the afternoon and went to my FLGS. so, tommorow it is.

 

 

some thoughts:

- i will be buying the start collecting. possibly something else too, but we'll see.

 

-in initial list planning for the future, i want a "core" of 3 wave serpents with dual starcannons (and the upgrade turning them to assault), 2 warwalkers with 2xaeldar missile launchers, and 2 wraithlords with starcannons.yes, i end up wanting to use wraithlords, i thought about this a lot, one backline farseer i want to cast guide and fortune , grab a home objective with the wraithlords and warwalkers, shoot people off objectives, and use the wave serpents with troops and/or wraithblades to contest other primaries to get 2/3 per turn.

naturally this will just be a "core", not the whole army (total points cost  with  2x troops and 1x wraithblades should be around 1400-1500 points, so lots of points leftover). thoughts?

Edited May 24, 2021 by MarshalMittermeier

[Karhedron]

Warwalkers are a good target for Guide as you can get rerolls on up to 6 heavy weapons that way.

[MarshalMittermeier]

so, CA happened, wanted to wait and collect my thoughts. not much changed-purchased the start collecting box today, will start building in the weekend when i have more time. reading through the codex right now,

[MarshalMittermeier]

this is slow. been too busy, i'll see if i can build the wraithblades tonight before bed.

Edited June 6, 2021 by MarshalMittermeier

[Dread]

Nice start. Welcome to the pointy ears. There are so many different ways to build your force. Aspects, wild riders, spirit hosts, just which ever flavor you want to play. What else is nice is when we get our new dex it will be great, i think, from seeing how good the others that have come out are.

[MarshalMittermeier]

...clocking in at 300 points.

[MarshalMittermeier]

440!!! we going strong.

[MarshalMittermeier]

hey guys. question...

as i expressed earlier, i have an "ideal", if real life money was not an issue, of "3 wave serpents, 2 wraithlords and a warwalkers unit". as i was reading on eldar strategy posts for next buy, i was thinking: "these wraithblades look fantastic and a strong choice. if i want both second wraithlord AND second warwalker, and now ALSO second unit of wraithblades, why not buy a second start collecting box"?

 

wouldnt that save me money in theory?

 

what about the extra farseer? what could i do with the model? any ideas?

[TrawlingCleaner]

The Start Collecting box would definitely be your best bet then! You could convert the Farseer into a Warlock with a little bit of reposing to make them look different or an arm swap with a sword to make a Witchblade?

Looking forward to seeing where your army goes next!

[MarshalMittermeier]

nice! i am sure i could find something to make the swap.

 

some thoughts: buying the second box would allow me to start playing 1000 pt games (i calculate it is about 975 points of optimal loadouts, assuming second farseer is warlock. two wraithlords will be dual starcannons and swords to put the hurt on enemy heavy infantry, warwalkers will have dual missile launchers or bright lances, will stand back and have guide cast on them)

 

so, with 25 points remaining, and 3-4 actual heavy support choices for a spearhead,  i can "proxy" some less than optimal upgrades temporarily and start playing actual 1000 pt games.

 

i know i want hunters of ancient relics for lore reasons of my craftworld, and it seems to fit well with the units.

second trait will most likely be expert crafters because of the wide hull identity of the list. the list is sadly light on anti-infantry, but that is a problem that should be covered in a future 2k pt version.

 

what about spiritseer? what would i need to do to convert the second farseer to spiritseer?

Edited September 22, 2021 by MarshalMittermeier

[TrawlingCleaner]

A spiritseer is actually probably a better suggestion! They're good to buff your Wraith units with reroll ones to hit and have 4 wounds instead of 2

Their only equipment option is a witchstaff, all you would need to do is to cut off the head of the singing spear and put an Eldar icon type thing on the top. In the warwalker or the wraithlord kit there's a small ruined Eldar icon you could canabalise

[Doctor Perils]

 

what about spiritseer? what would i need to do to convert the second farseer to spiritseer?

Spiritseer is a great option, if only on a thematic level. If you have some greenstuff, I'd recommend filling in the eye lenses and snipping off the "pharaoh beard" - the helm is the biggest visual difference between the spiritseer and farseers/warlocks after the weapon.

Have you got any current images? the facebook links have "URL expired" for me :)

[Urkh]

I personally am looking at 3 of the start collecting boxes. Gives a full squad of warwalkers, wraith guard/blades for days (especially if magnetizing), and as stated, we can convert the extra seers into other casters.

 

I currently have two, and don't feel like I have too much. I was personally debating getting the bundle on the gws site that also has a wave serpent and a unit of guardians for the third.

 

The one thing I dont like about the start collecting kit for us is it only comes with 2 of each heavy weapon, but the walkers and knights can each be equipped with two. So, if you DID want a list with starcannons on everything, you're SoL.

[MarshalMittermeier]