Tactica Aeldari: Autarch

[Karhedron]

Welcome to the first of a new series of posts that are intended to provide a "deep dive" into a single unit at a time in the new Index. This is not going to be as organised as a "Unit of the week" series as I always struggle to stick to routines. In order to keep things reasonable, I am going to lump all 3 flavours of Autarch (Infantry, Jetbike and Flying) into a single analysis.

 

Here are some questions to consider:

 

• Are you considering running an Autarch and would you make him your Warlord?
• What wargear and movement options are you considering?
• What unit would you look to run him with, do any good combos stand out?
• Are any of the Enhacements worth taking on an Autarch?
• Does he have good synergy with any Stratagems?

 

If you would like your model showcased here, please post a pic on the following thread. https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/363498-eldar-photos-for-uotw-series-im-ready-for-my-close-up/

 

 

Thanks to @Paladin777 for providing our first gallery photos.

 

 

 

[Kallas]

Wayleapers look to be the strongest by far: Lone Operative lets them sit back, possibly on an objective, and just accrue CP; give them a Reaper Launcher to let them pop shots off, and a Banshee Mask plus the base Star Glaive means they're a bit punchy if something gets close. With the Battle Host detachment, give the Wayleaper the Reader of the Runes enhancement so that you can reroll a Fate Dice each command phase to buff up your weakest rolls in relative safety. [Edit: Not possible, see Karhedron's reply below]

 

The other Autarchs really suffer from their lack of Bodyguard options: Guardians, Guardians, or Guardians. None are especially good, though possibly the Skyrunner could maybe get some value out of the Weeping Stones enhancement on a big unit of Windriders. With enough firepower they could reasonably get through smaller/weaker enemy units to gain some Fate Dice, and if there are weak enough targets then you could overwhelm an enemy unit in melee for potentially two Fate Dice. Realistically, a unit of sufficent size is going to be a decently high priority target (9 Windriders and an Autarch with Weeping Stones is 335pts, so about 1/6th of a 2000pt army, and still pretty fragile at T4/Sv3+; though you could add a Warlock Skyrunner for an extra 55pts, so now 390pts or 1/5th of your army, to give the unit Stealth).

 

Foot Autarch's Superlative Strategist ability is kind of nice, but because it's restricted to their own unit (ie, Guardians) it's heavily limited in scope. If it could give you an additional Heroic Intervention on Banshees or Scorpions? Sure. On Storm Guardians, not so much. Additional overwatch on Guardian Defenders, kind of ok, but worth the CP (on top of the opportunity cost of only being a benefit if you've already used that Stratagem on another unit already, meaning you're burning through CP quickly), probably not. Wayleaper's Leadership/Battleshock buff is mediocre, since Eldar have solid Ld6+ across the board (even Guardians), so it's gonna be kind of pointless 90% of the time, but nice to have, I suppose. Skyrunner's auto-6" advance is nice, does benefit the one unit they can join quite a bit, which is nice - moving a big unit of Windriders 20" guaranteed is ok, though only if they have the Twin Shuriken Catapult (which is definitely their weakest gun, now that everything costs the same ) to actually benefit from being able to shoot afterwards.

 

As far as wargear is concerned, the Banshee Mask and Star Glaive are clear cut choices: they give the most utility (Fights First) and power (Star Glaive's power is higher than the other melee options) and with the restricted nature of the Mandiblasters/Banshee Blade/Fusion Gun being glued together (and the Fusion Gun being...meh because of the S9), I really don't see much point in reducing their melee output 

 

Overall, I'm not sure Autarchs are worth much beyond the Wayleaper as a backline objective holder/CP generator - which is honestly not a terrible set of abilities, but it's definitely disappointing that they are so limited in their Leader options.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Kallas
Autarchs Can't Read Runes!

[Karhedron]

I agree, it seems unfluffy that a Leader who has supposedly walked the warrior path multiple times cannot actually join any Aspect Warriors. Unfortunately Autarchs cannot take Reader as they are not Psykers.

 

I agree though that the Wayleaper Autarch is probably the best option as a backfield holder and CP generator. The Phoenix Gen might be worth a look in case someone decides to drop some Deep Strikers in to try and squish him. On a 2+ he can get back up and run away.

 

The other option that might be worth a look is the Jetbike option to accompany a big squad of Windriders with Scatter Lasers and use the free CP use Bladestorm on them every turn.

[Kallas]

13 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

Unfortunately Autarchs cannot take Reader as they are not Psykers.

Ah damn, I missed that restriction, good to know!

[TrawlingCleaner]

I think an Autarch on Jetbike with the Weeping Stones in a 9 man squad of Windriders has some serious play too. Even without extra support from Guide or Doom, there's a good chance they'll kill a unit a turn and are a great candidate for Fire and Fade. Windriders are also pretty great for moveblocking if placed correctly too

 

It's a shame Autarchs can't go in some Aspect Warrior squads, would've been cool to get some action shots!

[Paladin777]

I think the wayleaper is definitely the way to go.

 

The skyrunner's auto-advance 6" would be nice on a squad with all TL catapults, but why would you ever take those when the cannons are the same cost! It really seems like he would only be there as a little insurance against melee combat, as you don't really want windriders close enough to the enemy for him to use his weapons. Though I guess he'd come in handy if you're trying to ram an enemy squad off an objective and need to take out the last couple models after shooting. 

 

A Reaper launcher might actually get some good play with a Wayleaper that's holding a backfield objective.

 

As far as the Foot-tarch goes, him being locked to guardians is absolute waste. His ability to double-up on a strategem is also pretty weak. Many other character get to do the same thing without even having to pay the CP for it. I guess he does generate one for free so that makes up for it a little... that said, how often are you going to want to spend that CP on guardians!?

Edited June 29, 2023 by Paladin777

[Clymer]

I had been planning on using a death jester as a backfield objective camper thinking that the lone operative rule would keep him pretty safe back there.

 

But now I think I might have overlooked the Leaper Reaper too quickly for the same role.

 

Death Jester Pros:

Shrieker Cannon is better damage output, 10 points cheaper than leaper, forces battleshock which can be handy if you place objectives well, way cooler model.

 

Leaper Reaper Pros:

Generates a CP, 6” more movement and fly makes it easier to get around and gives you more options, way better melee, slightly tougher (3+ regular save), 48” range may be better for objective camping, grenades key word… whatever that eventually means, and that +1 to battle shock tests for a friendly within 6”, but that seems a little situational.

 

I don’t know, will have to test it out, but I could see the Leaper coming out ahead for this purpose.

 

Otherwise, I share others’ disappointment at the seeming lack of utility for the foottaurch.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Clymer

[Clymer]

But…

 

If you could put the Autaurch in with aspect warriors, then what would you do?

[Karhedron]

3 hours ago, Clymer said:

I had been planning on using a death jester as a backfield objective camper thinking that the lone operative rule would keep him pretty safe back there.

 

But now I think I might have overlooked the Leaper Reaper too quickly for the same role.

 

I am thinking of potentially running both. Have the Death Jester as main Objective camper and the Jumptarch as backup. Many enemies will try dropping in a squad like Inceptors to clear out fragile backfield Campers who rely on Stealth/Lone Operative for protection. An Autarch with Glaive and Banshee Mask could potentially make quite a mess of Deep Strikers.

 

If the enemy does not have such a unit then the Autarch can flip where he needs to boost leadership or even steal midfield Objectives.

 

The unit to consider for the backfield role is a squad of Rangers led by Illic. They are also immune to targetting outside 12".

 

3 hours ago, Clymer said:

If you could put the Autaurch in with aspect warriors, then what would you do?

 

The Jetbike Autarch would lend some definite punch to a squad of Shining Spears along with Fights First from the Banshee mask.

 

Banshee Mask would be good with Wraithblades too.

[Kallas]

9 hours ago, Clymer said:

Death Jester Pros:

Shrieker Cannon is better damage output, 10 points cheaper than leaper, forces battleshock which can be handy if you place objectives well, way cooler model.

 

Leaper Reaper Pros:

Generates a CP, 6” more movement and fly makes it easier to get around and gives you more options, way better melee, slightly tougher (3+ regular save), 48” range may be better for objective camping, grenades key word… whatever that eventually means, and that +1 to battle shock tests for a friendly within 6”, but that seems a little situational.

 

The Leaper's CP is definitely very valuable in 10th, it's giving you 50% more CP per battle round which is a lot, relatively. Having 2CP during your turn is a guaranteed Fire and Fade if you want it, or you can use Feigned Retreat and Bladestorm, or any other 1CP strat; or save it for your opponent's turn and get more use out of Overwatch, Heroic Intervention, and Phantasm. Death Jester is a reasonable backline unit in a similar role, though I'd personally only look at them after including at least one Autarch somewhere in a list, since CP is very precious.

 

As for damage, the Reaper Launcher does look good, though I was recently reminded by someone (possibly here, possibly on Reddit, I forget) that the Dragon Fusion Gun could be very solid with Fate's Messenger. With 14" FLY movement and the DFG being Assault, you can Advance (possibly auto-6" with Matchless Agility/a Fate Dice) to get within 6" for Melta 3, then with Battle Host rerolls, Fate Dice and Fate's Messenger (*) you should be able to nearly guarantee a hit and wound; AP-4 for a likely failed save and then possibly a Fate Dice (if not used earlier or for something else) for a good damage roll. It's not going to be killing off vehicles/monsters on its own (unless they're light ones, like a Dreadnought, Carnifex, or similar) but it could be a solid little missile that comes from a long way off to hit pretty hard with some high reliability.

 

To be fair, some of this is coloured by my limited Eldar collection, so I'm mostly looking at smaller 1000pt games at the moment, and I also have very limited AT that I can include, so that combo might be a lot less valuable at 2000pts 

 

 

 

* Which activates after you've rolled your dice, so you should be able to use your BH reroll first, then substitute in the FM auto-6 if you still failed. I can't find anything in the Rules Commentary that counters this, but if someone does, please let me know!

[Paladin777]

In the recent released errata they unlocked the Autarch options, at which point I think the mandiblasters are quite a bit better than the banshee mask in most cases. Especially the wayleaper!

 

So I think the wayleaper's best loadout now is starglaive, reaper launcher, and mandiblasters. 
 

an autarch in a squad of backfield guardians for farming command points might also make decent use of a reaper launcher for a little chip damage. 
 

I think the wayleapera still better though. He gets his own Unparalleled foresight rolls, and Lone Operative is amazing. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Paladin777

[Karhedron]

I am not sure. Devastating Wounds from the Mandblasters are nice but I feel Fights First from the Banshee Mask is better. Fighting first, even when charged is a pretty strong ability and provides an important element of protection.

[Paladin777]

The fights first ability only matters when you're charged. Charging units are granted the Fights First because of the charge. I just think that DW on a 2 damage weapon is more likely to pay off than the off-chance you're facing an opponent that's fast enough to be able to charge you, instead of the other way around.

 

that said, I guess the foot-tarch could make use of the mask to keep the squad alive...

Edited July 26, 2023 by Paladin777

[Karhedron]

5 hours ago, Paladin777 said:

an autarch in a squad of backfield guardians for farming command points might also make decent use of a reaper launcher for a little chip damage. 

 

I agree that is not a bad place for him. The only annoying thing is that you cannot have a Farseer and Autarch in the same unit as that is normally where I would put my Farseer. I really don't fancy buying more Guardians than necessary. Even with their special rules, they are still a weak and fragile unit in 10th edition.

[Paladin777]

At that point I'd probably use the wayleaper then, if I have the points anyway. The leadership aura is more useful than the extra strat use anyway. 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Paladin777