Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus Seals the Fate of the Eldar As Well As Their Enemies

Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus showcases some really interesting rules for our favourite Space Elves.

Games Workshop are slowly chipping away at all the factions of Warhammer 40k: after yesterday’s Adeptus Mechanicus and last weeks Leagues of Votann, Astra Militarum and World Eaters (just to name a few), we finally come to the good Space Elves, the Aeldari. This faction focus received the approval of the community, regarded as the first one to harbour more positive changes than negative ones – even though we don’t know the full rules for ANY faction yet. Nevertheless, the revealed 10^th Edition Aeldari rules look really cool, so let’s get right into them!

Faction Rules revealed in the Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus

The faction-wide Army Rule for the Eldar will still be Strands of Fate in the next Edition of Warhammer 40k, but will work a little differently than in the current version of the tabletop wargame. Instead of getting Fate dice before the start of each round, you’ll only roll once at the start of the game. The Eldar players can make 12 D6 Strands of Fate rolls, which they can reroll almost indefinitely if they roll one dice less each time – until Fate smiles on them, and they think they rolled good enough (or they only have 1 dice left).

Then the Eldar player sets these dice aside, which will be their Fate die throughout the game. They can use these dice instead of rolling for actions their units do, kind of like Miracle dice for the Sisters of Battle. Aeldari can substitute Fate dice in the place of rolling for Advance, Battle-shock tests, Charges, Damage, Hits, Saves and Wounds, using the number on the Fate dice instead of anything else – but using up the dice. There are some ways to replenish the Fate pool, but they are a bit harder than for the Adepta Sororitas.

A Detachment Rule has also been showcased for the Battle Host Detachment called Unparalleled Foresight. While Games Workshop promised us that rerolls will be less widespread in the 10^th Edition, they seem to be giving them to every other faction. Aeldari have received the strongest version showcased yet, as this Detachment Rule let’s each unit reroll a Hit roll AND a Wound roll each time they shoot or fight. Of course, you have to make an army using the Battle Host Detachment to access this rule, but it seems like a small price to pay to have an insane amount of rerolls.

Using this Rule in tandem with the Strands of Fate let’s Aeldari armies manipulate dice like no other, which is one of the strongest combinations shown so far.

Unit Spotlights of the Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus

While no Epic Hero has been shown for the Eldar, we received two very interesting Datasheets: one for the Farseer Character, and one for the Guardian Defenders Battleline unit.

The Farseer has lost a Wound, his Eldritch Storm psychic power became a shooting weapon, but he retained his Shuriken pistol, his Singing spear in both melee and ranged, and his Witchblade. He also received two very strong new abilities:

• Branching Fates corrects the bad rolls of your Fate dice, as if you use one to substitute a roll for a unit within 12” of your Farseer, it counts as an unmodified 6,
• Fortune is the first 9^th Edition psychic power which is not turned into a weapon, but rather an ability. Instead of giving a 5+ Feel No Pain to a friendly unit nearby, Fortune worsens the enemy unit’s chances to wound the buffed unit, as each attack has a -1 to Wound until the next Command phase.

The Farseer seems like a unit which will be staple for most of the Aeldari armies, as it can further manipulate dice, and the extra toughness given to units is also a plus – just don’t forget to hide it behind troops or cover.

The Guardian Defenders are the primary source of Fate dice generation showcased for the Aeldari. The Battleline unit’s Defenders of Fate ability lets you make new Fate dice if the Guardian Defenders are in range of an objective marker, which is incredibly valuable – especially when used in conjunction with the Farseer’s Branching Fates skill. In contrast with many other armies’ Battleline troops hitting on a 4+, the Defenders retained their 3+ Ballistic Skill – but they’ll also still have 3 Toughness, so once and enemy unit gets to them, they’ll rarely see to fight tomorrow. Their heavier weapons also got the 10^th Edition Strength increase, so overall, Eldar players can be really happy with their troops as well as the one character showcased.

Weapon Spotlight of the Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus

While I thought that the Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus couldn’t get better, the best part wasn’t even showed until the Weapon Spotlight. The only new gun showcased was the Prism Cannon of the Fire Prism, the heavy tank of the Aeldari forces. This gun currently has 14 or 6 Strength depending on the profile, and it can deal a devastating 3D3 Damage with a -5 AP if you fire it in Focused mode.

However, it just got a lot better: while the Focused aspect has lost a pip of AP, it now deals a flat 6 Damage with 18 Strength on a 3+ with a 60” range. But the range is not the reason you can’t hide from the Prism Cannon – the Linked Fire keyword is. This new keyword let’s the Fire Prism use another Fire Prism to determine range and visibility from, meaning that you can make a network of these heavy vehicles in order to make it very hard for enemy units to evade the gaze of the Prism Cannon. This ability is extremely strong, as the opponents of Aeldari players will have to think twice about positioning if they don’t want to be destroyed by these weapons – hopefully, this won’t be the only army with the Linked Fire ability, as it seems really cool.

Stratagem Spotlight of the Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus

After these awesome rules showed for the Aeldari, the Stratagem revealed by Games Workshop is a bit underwhelming. Fire and Fade won’t change much from the 9^th Edition version, as it will still cost 2 CP, and let’s a unit at the end of the Shooting phase make a normal move – however, it can’t embark on Transports, not even if the unit using the Strat is a Harlequin unit (they can in the current rules). This Stratagem is also very strong, it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table like the other rules and datasheets showcased in the Warhammer 40k Aeldari Faction Focus.

Overall, the enjoyers of the Space Elves can be really happy. While their new rules are a bit similar to the Adepta Sororitas, the Fate dice are a “different flavour” than the Miracle dice, which and the Aeldari will have a different, faster approach to the battlefield than the Sisters of Battle. Games Workshop finally delivered a Faction Focus which won the approval of the community – and I can’t wait for the other new rules showcased until the start of the 10^th Edition! Don’t forget to check out the other Faction Focuses on ESTNN, and follow us for the latest Warhammer 40k news!