FW give the Eldar some love

[Primarch]

Forgeworld have put the Eldar Hornet up on their site, priced at a cheap (for FW) £32.

Pictures are here.
Rules are here.

The rules seem nice.
Comparing it to the Vyper (a similar vehicle in the same slot), it costs a little more but has better armour, star engines and scout as standard. In fact, if you give it dual shuri-cannons, it is cheaper than a Vyper with the same guns and the engines.

If I was an Eldar player, I'd probably get a couple of these as an alternative weapons platform to vypers/war walkers.

[Admiral-Badruck]

Now maybe all the eldar players out there will calm down about the lack of forge world love.

[me_in_japan]

ahem:

@badruck: when did eldar players ever complain about "the lack of forge world love"? You wanna see if you can quote any of em? cos I dont remember seeing any. Lack of GW love, yes. overpriced units, yes. bad minis - no.

@Prim: 32 quid? cheap? for things that pretty much only function in squads of 3? Hell no. You say it could be used as an alternative for a vyper, but heck, a snotling with a pointy stick could be used as an alternative to a vyper. And as for an alternative to a war walker? why would you bother? war walkers are better in the role as they have scout (outflank) and are significantly cheaper. tbh, as evidenced in most games, you dont even need to move em much. Sure, the hornet gets more options and can scoot around super fast, like, but what it should be used as is a gunship, and if its scooting it aint shooting. If you put holofields and 2 pulse lasers (40 points each! whaaaaat?) on it then it clocks in at 170 points, which is even more expensive than a holo-prism or holo-falcon. As for a squad of 3? forget about it. As you say, you can put shuricats on it and its dead cheap, but then, why would you not just put shuricats on a squad of warwalkers and be done with it for less points?

The only thing its got going for it, apart from being a lovely model, is the fact that its fast attack, and eldar need something in that slot worth taking. There is also potential for a unit of 3 with dual scatter lasers/EML, which can zip around the back of enemy tanks and starting whomping on em. Still pricey, though. Maybe against IG or something...

anyway - these are all first impressions. i daresay somebody cleverer than me will come up with some kinda dastardly use for them. failing that, i spose ill have to think a bit more meself. Still, at the moment i reckon it suffers from near terminal "Eldaritis" i.e. nice, but waaaaay, waaaaaaaaaaaay over-priced.

[me_in_japan]

edit: just a thought: 3 hornets with TL scatter lasers in 3 separate squads. (nothing else queing up for FA love at the mo, might as well split em up...). zip em 36" around the flank, or round the back if possible. use em for anti-tank stuff. OK, theyll go down soonish, but they could probly take out enough enemy armour, as long as it wasnt landies or something, to make back their points. Theyd at least give the opposition something else to worry about besides war walkers.

edit (again): pulse lasers: the most pointless gun in the game? S8 AP2 Heavy 2. You need to kill terminators? use starcannon (same but S6). You need to kill tanks? Use EML (half the price) or, more likely, melta. You need to kill infantry? take scatter lasers.

What, exactly, can a pulse laser do that another eldar gun cant do better?


edit!: my bad. They have scout, too. Still not liking em more than war walkers though...

[Primarch]

Maybe the reason everything is overpriced in the Eldar dex is because you keep putting 35 point upgrades on 55 point models? Now I know what you're going to say, Eldar stuff is weak and fragile. Space Marine Landspeeders are 10 all round and dont get holo fields etc, and if they did, I wouldnt be taking them. By reducing the cost per model, you not only get more models for your points, but also more guns to kill enemy models with which also increases the survivability of your models.

Put a couple of scatter lasers on one of these things and use the scout move to outflank it. As you said, there are no real choices in FA, but the HS slot has falcons, prism cannons, wraithlords and reapers all competing for the same slot as the war walkers. This thing has the benefit of better armour (immune to bolters on the front and side), can move a little faster (at the expense of some shooting) or can move really fast to contest an objective in the last turn.

And I didnt say £32 was cheap, I said it was cheap for forge world.

[me_in_japan]

you keep putting 35 point upgrades on 55 point models

...you mean...not put holo fields on something that can get em? but...I...don't understand...

Landspeeders are 10 all round and dont get holo fields

which is why im largely not bothered by em. They go down smooooth The only exception is bastardy wee outflanking ones that fly in on turn 5 and heavy flame yer dire avenger squad or suchlike. I'll concede that hornets could do something similar with a TL scatter loadout, but I disaprove of such "trusting to fate" maneuvres. If your reserves come on on turn 2, then its too bad for you. Dont do much, pow, kablooie, there goes yer landspeeders. I dont like taking suicide units, as I find it horribly unfluffy for eldar.

By reducing the cost per model, you not only get more models for your points, but also more guns to kill enemy models with which also increases the survivability of your models.

aha, but you lose the sheer irritation factor that holo fields induce in the opposition. That said, at AV11 you're likely to be taking enough penetrating hits to render the field meaningless. Id consider not putting fields on these guys (I never put em on vypers, btw, just in case you were wondering)

or can move really fast to contest an objective in the last turn.

aha! I knew someone would find they had an advantage over war walkers if they looked hard enough! Well done - thou shalt have a biscuit!

[Primarch]

Landspeeders are 10 all round and dont get holo fields

which is why im largely not bothered by em. They go down smooooth ...

....aha! I knew someone would find they had an advantage over war walkers if they looked hard enough! Well done - thou shalt have a biscuit!

Actually, I find 3 landspeeders, each packing 2 heavy bolters each can be pretty deadly. Every time I use that unit, it never fails to perform well.

What sort of biscuit? Rich Tea? Jaffa Cake? Digestive?
Man, I miss English biscuits....

[me_in_japan]

What sort of biscuit? Rich Tea? Jaffa Cake? Digestive?
Man, I miss English biscuits....

what kind would you like? Im going back to the bonnie bonnie banks of the homeland over christmas, and I could well bring back some munchies for consumption during Winter Blitz, if I was feeling suitable charitable...

[Primarch]

what kind would you like? Im going back to the bonnie bonnie banks of the homeland over christmas, and I could well bring back some munchies for consumption during Winter Blitz, if I was feeling suitable charitable...

ooooh!!!

Jaffa Cakes if you have room to spare in your box. Or Mars bars. Technically not a biscuit, but sadly/stupidly unavailable in Japan . (If anyone knows different, please tell me).

[Mike the Pike]

Mars bars are definitely available in Japn. How did you think I got so fat? By eating Men's Pocky? Their whereabouts will cost you dearly though.