Or – Just how do we resolve Ynnari vs Ynnari Soul Burst?
On Sunday the 27th of March, I got my first game with the new Eldar faction – the Ynnari at the KRAGS (that’s Kwinana Rockingham Armchair Generals for those playing at home) Sudden Encounters 2017 40k event. That (and the following 3 games at this event were more than eye opening… so, here is my event wrap up…
PART 1
Let’s start with the list I took. The event KRAGS decided to run was a 1500 point, 1 day event with 4 games. 2 games were eternal war missions while the other 2 were maelstrom missions. The event put a limit of 1 Lord of War (max 25% of the points for this model) and had a limit of 3 detachments. No changes were applied to destroyer weapons or any psychic powers.
Faction : Ynnari
Detachment: Reborn Warhost
HQ: Spirit Seer
HQ: Autarch, Jet Bike, Fusion Gun, Laser Lance, Banshee Mask
Elite: 5 Wraith Guard, Wraith cannons, Wave Serpent, TL Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon
Troops: 3 Wind Rider Jet Bikes, 3 Scatter Lasers
Troops: 3 Wind Rider Jet Bikes, 3 Scatter Lasers
Fast Attack: 6 Reaver Jetbikes, 2 Cluster Caltrops, 2 Blasters
Fast Attack: 5 Warp Spiders, Exarch, Dual Spinners
Fast Attack: Beast Pack – 1 Khymera
Lord of War: Wraith Knight, Heavy Wraith Cannons
Faction : Craftworld Eldar
Detachment: Ulthwe Strike Force
1 Black Guardian War Walker, 2 Scatter Lasers
1 Black Guardian War Walker, 2 Scatter Lasers
Troops: 3 Black Guardian Wind Rider Jet Bikes, 3 Scatter lasers
Troops: 3 Black Guardian Wind Rider Jet Bikes, 3 Scatter lasers
TOTAL – 1498
So, the theory for the army is based around mobility and firepower. The Ulthwe Strike Force allows the list to null deploy if need be but more importantly allows for a massive range of options when it comes to angles of attack and being exactly where you need to be. I don’t think I can state it enough – this detachment is solid gold.
The Reborn Warhost I used is an interesting beast. I elected to go with the spiritseer and wraithguard in the wave serpent rather than the webway portal for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the archon (while cheaper than the serpent) would require more troops to be added to make up another detachment OR require me to give up the autarch. The addition of more troops would end up costing me at more units (at least the warp spiders minimum) while the loss of the autarch would hurt for controlling the deployment of the Strike Force.
As it transpired – the delivery of the wraithguard (and the addition of spirit mark for them) was fantastic. Thanks to jink and the serpent shield I was able to control when and where the serpent wrecked and as it was almost guaranteed to wreck rather than explode, the wraithguard would be soulbursting as their vehicle went down. I really liked the flexibility of the serpent as well as it meant that the unit was not a suicide unit as it had the chance to redeploy after shooting the first time. You also had a natural barrier to help shield the unit as they fired.
The Scatbikes and the warp spiders are standard fare for Eldar tournament lists and they work as you expect. I won’t ever run more than minimum squads to maximise the MSU and the chances of soulbursts.
The Wraithknight in the Reborn Warhost is just nuts. The ability to fire twice using the wraith cannons in a single turn is just nuts. I am sure I don’t need to say anything more than this – every Ynnari list at a tournament will likely have one, it’s just so good.
The last 2 units in the list were both surprising but for different reasons. The suicide khymera was a great theory but ultimately it’s a gimmick that any half decent player won’t fall for on face value. I ended up very quickly realising I needed to play it differently. To force people to kill the thing, I quickly realised the best option was to declare a charge with it while having jet bikes in close (read 7 inches) proximity. The khymera would then charge, die, trigger soul burst and then the scatbikes would get to fire. After they fire the bikes then get the assault move! I am not sure the suicide khymera is a requirement or even a staple of lists going forward.
The Reaver Jet Bikes, with the Autarch, is my favourite unit so far. It does everything – its fast, shoots well, assaults well and is even reasonably durable. It’s a great trouble shooting unit you can plug in to hold up enemy forces and then rapidly redeploy once the rest of the army has gotten out of dodge. I see many more reavers appearing in my forces in the future.
You can check out part 2 tomorrow to see just how my games went!