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This section will cover the army-wide rules that bring the Eldar into 6^thedition Warhammer 40k. There are some great things here that I can’t wait to see on the battlefield!

Most of the units in the Eldar army have these new special rules.

Ancient Doom: The model gains Hatred (Daemons of Slaanesh and models with the Mark of Slaanesh, but have -1 on their LD when testing for Fear against Daemons of Slaanesh and Marks of Slaanesh.

Battle Focus: This is the big one! The unit may run AND shoot or shoot AND run. You have to activate this ability with each unit before you can move the next unit. Models cannot use Battle Trance if they have a heavy weapon, unless it also has the relentless special rule (hint, hint: weapons platforms!)

Murphy’s Take:

I think that the Ancient Doom rule is great for fluff, but will only come up in a handful of battles. I love that 6th edition codexes are finding ways of including fluff into the rules without unbalancing the game. For instance, I absolutely love the Chaos Space Marine rule, Veterans of the Long War. First, it’s such a “fluffy” name, and giving your evil marines Hatred for the loyalist reflects perfectly their 10,000 year devotion to destroying the Emperor and his most loyal soldiers.

Now, the other new rule, Battle Focus, is going to change the game! Truthfully, it’s the first new rule that I’ve seen to actually “break” the rules. I mean this in a good way. For two editions now, units could not fire weapons AND run in the same turn. Heck, I think this rule of either/or goes back to 2nd edition. Now, we have practically an entire army that breaks this rule.

Eldar players in 6th edition are going to have two options to use this new power: offensively or defensively. Obviously, you can use it offensively to move, run forward to get in range, and then open fire. This makes Eldar very mobile on foot and very aggressive.

However, smart players might also use this defensively as well. You could very well wait until your opponent moves into range, perhaps move your own troops up to get in range, shoot, and then run backwards to increase the range between you and your opponent again.

Consider now that almost all Eldar units have Fleet, meaning that they will be able to re-roll their Run distance. This will give players a reliable 4-5 inches on most turns. The downside to this rule is that most Eldar foot weapons (as opposed to vehicle weapons) have dreadfully short ranges, from between 12-18″ inches. At least this rule will help you get into range quicker!

The Eldar have a new set of Warlord Traits, which is to be expected for a new 6th edition codex. One interesting thing to note is that the Phoenix Lord, Asurmen, gets to chose 1D3 of these traits!

Eldar Warlord Traits:

1. Ambush of Blades: Once per game, in your own Shooting or Assault Phase, the warlord and allies within 12″ reroll failed To Wound rolls of 1.
2. An Eye on Distant Events: Once per game, in the enemy’s Shooting Phase, the warlord and all allies within 12″ gain Stealth.
3. Falcon’s Swiftness: The warlord and his unit add +1 to their run movement.
4. Fate’s Messenger: The warlord rerolls failed saves of 1.
5. Mark of the Incomparable Hunter: The warlord gains the Split Fire rule.
6. See of the Shifting Vector: Allied Eldar units deepstriking within 6″ of the warlord will not scatter.

Murphy’s Take:

The “once per game” traits are interesting. While they might seem a little “meh” at first glance, being only a one use trick, but I realized that there are often games I play where my Warlord Trait is NEVER used because they are often so situational. At least these give you a choice of when to use it! I like the Split Fire trait because it allows you to keep your Warlord protected in a unit, but perhaps to use some firepower to direct where it’s needed, rather than at its unit’s target.

Every unit of Aspect Warriors can upgrade one member to become an Exarch, which then opens up new wargear options and lets them pick from a list of usually 3 Exarch powers. Each type of Exarch has a different combination of powers, chosen out of the master list here.

Several of the Exarch powers are straight out of the Warhammer 40k rulebook in the form of a Universal Special Rule (USR). There are some great new ones, too, though! Let’s look at the USR’s available. Remember, every Exarch gets to pick one from their available list.

USR abilities: Fear, Feel No Pain, Hit and Run, Monster Hunter, and Night Vision.

New Exarch powers:

Battle Fortune: 4+ invulnerable save.

Crushing Blow: +1 Strength.

Disarming Strike: When in a challenge, both the Exarch and his enemy both roll a d6. If the Exarch’s WS is higher, he adds +1 to the roll. If he ties or wins the roll, choose ONE of the enemy’s weapons and it counts as only a normal close combat weapon for the round.

Fast Shot: The exarch may fire his weapon 1 more time than normal, but not with template weapons.

Iron Resolve: +1 LD

Marksman’s Eye: The Exarch has precision shots on a 5+

Shield of Grace: In a challenge, the Exarch gains a 3+ invulnerable, but can only make a single attack.

Stalker: When in a challenge, both the Exarch and his opponent roll a D6. If the Exarch’s Initiative is higher, he adds +1 to his roll. If he ties or wins the roll, the Exarch may reroll failed To Wound rolls.

Murphy’s Take:

I love Exarch powers! In the glory days of 2nd edition, every Exarch was an Independent Character, could be given some insane powers and wargear combinations. They were the bane of many armies, and often so cheap that they gave up zero victory points. Unfortunately for Eldar players, the days of a Jump Generator Exarch with a bright lance and Quick Shot are 15 years long gone. Exarchs are now glorified sergeants, but they can still pack quite a punch! Keep these powers in mind when you explore the Exarch options in the later parts of this review!

Eldar Psychic Powers