Tactica Aeldar: Farseer

[Karhedron]

Welcome to the next entry in 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 both flavours of Farseer (Infantry and Jetbike) into a single analysis. I am also going to include Eldrad since he now appears to be available to all Aeldari lists.

 

Here are some questions to consider:

 

• Are you considering running a Farseer 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 a Farseer ?
• 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/

[Paladin777]

The infantry one do well to stay within Fortune range a tough unit like either wraithguard/wraithblades or a wraithknight. 

 

The skyrunner obviously needs to be with windriders, but that's not really a bad thing. Either stay fast enough to get that Guide where it needs to go, or cast it on his own squad if it needs it. Guide pairs very well with shurikan cannons!

[Karhedron]

Branching Fates synergises so strongly with our core Fate Dice Mechanic that I cannot see ever not wanting to take at least one Farseer to turn your 1s into 6s. However because you can only use the ability once per turn, you will probably one want 1 Farseer or the other as otherwise you run into the law of diminishing returns.

 

The choice of on foot or Jetbike largely depends on what else you are running in your army as both Fortune and Guide are pretty good. On balance I think that Fortune is better as Guide overlaps with Strands of Fate to some extent whereas -1 to wound on an important vehicle or Wraith unit is really good. On foot, I think Guardian Defenders are the natural bodyguard and will also help generate more Fate Dice for you when sitting on an Objective. A Farseer with 10 Defenders comes to under 200 points and incudes a heavy weapon for plinking away at the enemy as well as options for Fate Dice manipulation.

 

For Jetbikes I would run with a large squad with Shuriken Cannons. Rerolling with Guide will help get the most mileage out of their Sustained Hits rule. I would also add a Warlock on Jetbike to this setup as Conceal giving the whole unit Stealth will help to keep them alive. Either Farseer will probably want the Reader of Runes enhancement if you can afford it to further increase the value of your Fate dice.

 

Then there is Eldrad! While you will probably only want a Footseer or Jetseer, you can quite happily run Eldrad alongside either flavour of Farseer.  Every rule this guy has is great. An extra 3 Fate Dice at the start of the game is very nice. Eldrad is the only Psyker with access to Doom which is fantastic for taking down large targets. His staff of Ulthmar gives him a little more bite in melee than a regular Farseer although you really don't want him there if you can help it. Lastly his custom psychic attack of Mind War is really nice for psychically sniping enemy Characters. If you already have Rangers or Death Jesters in your army, this can be perfect for finishing off any wounded Characters.

 

Eldrad is quite affordable at 100 points. While more than a regular Farseer, I think he is usually worth his points, particularly if you already have a vanilla Farseer for Branching Fates. The only downside is that Eldrad is also limited in which squads he can join. The Warlock Conclave is fluffy but just a bit too fragile in my opinion which means you will probably run him with Guardian Defenders. I suppose you could run him with Storm Guardians to help out their meagre melee potential but I remain deeply sceptical of this unit,

 

So in summary, if I were just running 1 Farseer, I would take a regular one of either flavour with Reader of Runes. If I was taking 2, I would take a Jetseer with Reader of Runes, a large squad of shuricannon Jetbikes and Warlock on Jetbike. I would then take Eldrad as my Second Farseer with the Guardian Defenders.

Edited July 21, 2023 by Karhedron