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| Puffy Albert |
Hello everyone...! S'been a while.
Once again, real life has been hard work and doesn't seem to be relenting with UCAS, Vet work and applications coming to an unpleasant mount next week. TKE and I have been discussing behind the scenes niceties and rules that have been written, are being written and are yet to be written (I sound like an oracle... lol).
Well, I haven't yet replied to the ranger sniper rifle and Jetbike points raised from last time, but I can say that some of the plans out there will make Saim-Hann players happy.... Autarch Upgrade do I hear...? I have taken your pointers for the cannon upgrade though - I genuinely made a mistake there I intended to make them every 3.
The last troops choice (not counting groups of Wraithguard and the like...) in this codex are our first group of Aspect Warriors - the Dire Avengers. Clad (typically - some people have funny ideas about colour schemes ;) ) in blue and gold bodysuits, with tall white plumed helmets, these guys are primarily focused on defence and anti-infantry firepower, protecting other units by utterly removing large numbers of infantry heading their way. The current ruleset for them is... okay (naff).
The main complaint for me is that they are so expensive for how they perform. I mean, sure everything in the 'dex inherently has doom and guide factored into the cost, but they don't need to be that expensive. If they *are* going to be that expensive, they really shouldn't be that shit. Sure, their gun is *okay* but not on an incredible platform. They don't fulfil their 'fluffy' ideal as a unit that removes light infantry at a glance, instead sometimes epically flailing to do that too.
The Exarch is only really occasionally used, and then only to unlock bladestorm for the squad, with no-one using the other 'power' defend. The only real choice of wargear is the Dual Catapults to increase damage output at range, as frankly no-one wants to get these guys into close combat... Yay T3 4+ save with no defensive grenades! w000t. Not.
As they stand, they are at best mediocre troops choice if stripped back to a DAVU unit, clocking in at 60pts for 5 who try their hardest to hide inside a tank until it blows up, and then to cower, crying, maybe emerging to just flail at something until it (or more likely) they die. Compare that to a melta-carrying imperial guard infantry squad who, at 60pts has 5 more bodies, the same toughness... etc etc etc They pretty much have no caveat.
Codex creep *is* real people. [Actually Width, I disagree vehemently. :p]
So, how to improve them without breaking them, yet retaining an air of fluffiness?
First of all, as they are a defensive aspect, who go around in smaller numbers than the large squads of guardians, I figured, give them Tanglefoot grenades - no-one will moan about that... surely? :) Their weapon buff has already been mentioned in a previous post, shoving them to s4ap5 18" A3 guns from the inferior shottage they previously had, meaning they really can hose targets to death with their shuriken rain.
I wasn't really sure on recosting with these changes, especially with some of the others made across the board, but I felt that dropping them to 10pts each was fair. If you do feel that this is inappropriate, by all means give us a shout - we will listen and jack them up a little. :)
And now a short musical break.....
In the fluff, each Aspect Warrior Troupe is led by the Exarch in charge of their respective shrine, with each Craftworld having at least one of each shrine flavour. Exarchs are highly important members of the shine, being responsible for training the eldar who come to them seeking containment of their War Mask whilst giving the group benefit of their unique skillset in combat. These are displayed in the codex in the form of the tabletop powers that you have to purchase (buh - whut?).
On the tabletop, we rarely see exarchs (unless someone is taking a silly footdar list...) indicating that the intricate fluff has no presence on the table. This is going to be changed for our rewrite.
Exarchs are mandatory for Aspect Warrior Squads.
Yes, mandatory.
Don't hate us just yet. They are going to be actually genuinely useful now - we've given the powers a real rethink. Especially those that were previously a wee bit shit.
This article is about Dire Avengers, so we'll start with these guys then.
When I first mentioned my intention to do this fandex to TKE over twitter, one of the initial ideas he threw at me was 2W exarchs. I have seized this stat and run with it all over the draft unit profiles that have been written so far it is integral to the design of several units. Other than this, their profiles are exactly the same.
The modified powers were a little bit harder to think up, but some classics had to stay such as Bladestorm, with Defend being modified significantly to make more sense in the current gaming scene. Another power, suggested by TKE was 'Asuryan's Bent' (You at the back, stop sniggering!) is an interesting one...
"The unit may always attempt to regroup, regardless of other considerations, if the Squad's Exarch remains in play."
I liked it so much, I stuck it in the unit entry with the other updated Exarch powers.
With regards to wargear changing, I didn't think that anything needed extensive modification but I have been inspired by some of the new rumours floating around... You'll have to read the entry to understand what I mean by that... :)
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| From DakkaDakka... A Beauty isn't it. |
Now, without further ado, here are the alpha draft rules.
As usual, any comments or criticisms, please let us know via comment, or if you like via Twitter (I am @TWidthofACircle).
Next time... Community Approved Troops and The Wave Serpent.
12 comments:
In general, I like your thoughts here. I mainly have two questions.
1. Why does the exarch have a 3+ armour save? The heavier suit is not traditionally used by the shrine of the Dire Avengers.
2. What makes the unit deserve such high Ld values of 9-10, instead of 8-9?
All Exarch suits are generally heavier and bulkier than those of the Aspect Warriors. Besides, he has a 3+ in the old dex, unless I'm very much mistaken.
High Leadership is what makes Eldar tick. They are LD9 in the previous codex ;) Besides, Exarchs are the summation of multiple personalities - they have lots more experience than regular people. Sure I know it's higher than a space marine, but an Exarch and a Squad enter a ritualistic fury focusing their mindset of hate and ire on their opponents - meaning they don't really consider anything other than killin'.
If you think the Exarch should drop to Ld9, I might do that.
@Araith- think you need to check you Eldar codex again sir, Exarchs are already 3+ save and all aspect warriors have Ld9
Asuryans Bent- does anyone else imagine this is written in toilet cubicles all across the Craftworld?
On the entry-
Avengers have gained an extra shot, plasma grenades and "tanglefoot" grenades and yet drop 2 pts? I would of been happy to keep them at their current cost for those benefits, 12pts isnt much
I would like to see the diresword as standard equipment for the exarch, its the signature weapon for the aspect. Either make it standard or make it better, currently its a bit naff (although being half price in your codex might help that)
You have diluted defend a bit, currently it takes a whole squad down a notch but your version takes it down to 1 or 2 models. Maybe make it count as defensive grenades for the squad?
Araith, I actually agree with you. In retrospect I think that they are too good for 10pts apiece. Tanglefoot grenades are defensive grenades. ;)
I wanted to leave as much untouched as I could, integrating new powers as was needed, but the Diresword is an upgrade, sorry.
I think a point raise might be a good idea, yes. Also to put a little distance between them and the Guardians.
As regards leadership, all good points. On my part I'm not against high leadership, I'm just hesitant about doling out high Ld scores (which I see happen too often too easily), so I raise the matter to make people think about it.
And Ld10 is quite high...
As regards armour, perhaps exarchs do currently all have a 3+ armour save, but that doesn't mean they should have in this new dex.
Some aspects are presented as having heavier armour than others, like the Striking Scorpions and the Warp Spiders; apparently those aspects are willing to sacrifice agility and speed for added protection. But what would be the reason why all exarchs have a 3+ armour? I'd say they use the same armour as the rest of their shrine; if shrine tradition proscribes lighter armour, exarchs should adhere. Why would they not?
As well as previous Codexes, quite a lot is being drawn from Gav Thorpe's Path of The Warrior, and other fluff sources.
It's clearly indicated that the Exarch armour is more ornate, more ancient, and provides more protection.
While, like CSM, the armour becomes practically part of the being inside it, Exarchs can take theirs off - it remains Armour, and they don't feel pain relating to damage to it.
For me, this created a couple of possible options:
Feel No Pain - to represent the Exarch's War Mask and single-minded devotion to the destruction of the foe, and the greater protection of the armour (which would, in this case, be a 4+)
An Invulnerable Save - stepping on the Shimmershield's toes somewhat, unpleasantly, this would nevertheless be ok/good for the other Aspects, and all have to be equally considered. However, it's hard to justify the inclusion of kinetic fields or something...it isn't Ghostplate.
Improved Armour Save - This is what has traditionally been how GW have approached the conundrum, and, while not perfect, I feel for consistency's sake alone, it's the only REAL option.
As for Ld - again, consistency, and fluff-driven concerns.
But I concur, 12 points/man is perfectly good for the upgrade.
Ooops - I mean, "for the upgrade they have received." Lol
As regards the armour save, those are good thoughts. I agree that an improved armour save is perhaps the best solution.
I admit, i made a fail. They are supposed to be 12ppm. haha
Well, everyone seems to be in agreement about that. ^^
My local forum has now basically stopped giving feedback after I pulled out mathhammer on them.
This partially accounts for the slowness of posting. Have also had to deal with people epically hating on me disagreeing with them.
18" rapid fire weapons don't make sense to me being one of the points I was making.
And much herping and derping.
Hehe. At least people care enough for epic hatred.
And as far as I'm concerned 18" rapid fire weapons can make sense, just not for shuriken weaponry (which I presume it's about). But that's not a debate we're having here. ^^
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