Warhammer 40K, Army List: Cheap and cheerful 500points Eldar

One of the things I'm consistently asked by students is "Sir, are those your models?" Which is usually followed by asking if I painted them myself, and then the final question "Doesn't that take ages?"

And usually the answer is yes.

But for right now, the Eldar have the easiest, and most accessible route into the hobby. They also have the straightest line to competitive builds of all the codices out there. The Start Collecting! Eldar box kit is by far the easiest way to get to a cheesy list, and it even starts right at the beginning.

The Start Collecting! Eldar kit comes with a Fire Prism, a jetbike Farseer and a squad of jet bikes. The weakest unit for points cost in this line up is the Fire Prism... and that should tell you something. This is by far the best kit on the shelves, and I can't imagine they're sitting on there for long.

Not only does the starter formation get you to use 3 relatively strong units, but two of them have dual builds; the Farseer goes into a jetbike warlock, and the Fire Prism can be built into a Nightspinner. Unlike the other Start Collecting! kits out there which have a unique HQ model, the Farseer/Warlock build options allow you to buy multiples of the same kit without wasting the unique HQ. Not to mention the fact that a few competitive builds take two or even three Farseers. No one ever thought taking two or three Commissars or Terminator Captains was a good idea.

But on to the list. It's ridiculously simple. Below is the School's League compliant list at 450 points.

Craftworld Eldar
Formation: CAD

HQ
Farseer: Jetbike, Singing Spear

Troops
Jetbike squad: 3x Bikes, 3x Scatterlasers
Jetbike squad: 3x Bikes, 3x Scatterlasers

Heavy Support
Fire Prism: Underslung Shuriken Cannon, Turret Prism Canon, Holofields, Ghostwalk Matrix

Total: 442

The Jetbikes do what hey do best; jump-shoot-jump shenanigans with their 36-inch scatter guns. As any veteran knows, the scat-pack is the most point efficient way of getting mobile firepower, that is still as tough as a Marine. They swoop in in the last turn to grab objectives.

The Farseer is a psychic power house, and whilst is powerful enough with the Eldar psychic table, taking Telepathy on a model that can literally change table sides in a turn is an absolute nightmare. Whether Psychic Shrieking monstrous creatures into submission, or turning that Fire Prism invisible, they are a force multiplier without comparison.

The 'weakest' link in the army is the Fireprism, but it's hard to call it that. It's primary canon is a flexible laser, with three firing modes depending on the situation. From 60-inches away, you can drop an AP3 large blast pie-plate for one shotting Space Marine squads, a small blast AP2 for the heavily armoured out there, and finally a Strength 9 AP1 Lance shot for knocking over any Land Raiders that somehow sneak into a 450 Point army.

And then it can literally take it's pick of upgrades. I've put on Holofields for durability (and AV12 at 450 points is massively durable already!). The Ghostwalk matrix is there simply to allow it to ignore cover as it kites its way across the battlefield.

The even better thing about this? You just need two Start Collecting! Eldar box sets to get going. Most Marine armies will need to pay for at least 2 transports clocking it at £40-£50 for the two Rhino/Razorbacks alone. The Eldar army is done for under £100.

The reason you take the second Start Collecting! kit over a single jet bike kit is simple. To upgrade to 500points, just slot in a jetbike Warlock with a Singing Spear. Now Every unit in the army can knock out vehicles, and two units can pretty much dominate the psyker war.

Even crazier?? Those two kits means that for a 1000-point army you only need to bring along the second Fire Prism, and can still fit an Aspect Warrior host formation of Warp Spiders!! An unbelieabley good bargain in that Start Collecting kit.

And the final bit of awesomeness??? The low model count means you can have a tournament ready army in about a week of painting. So next time a student asks "Does it take ages?" I can finally say, "Nope."

Basically, if you want to start collecting Eldar, now's the best time to do it.

Thanks for reading.

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