Dabling In Eldar Soup - List Building - Evan's Aeldari 0.1

My friend and ATC teammate Phil, the Glacial Geek, was in my area last week and we were able to get a game in. We opted to play ITC Missions in prep for ATC, which is rapidly approaching. I  was interested in trying out armies other than my bugs to get wider experience so I asked Phil if he had any preference. He mentioned he didn't think he'd had Harlequins on his channel before, and certainly not since their Codex released (side-note: I did a first look Codex review for Nights at the Game Table); with this in mind I decided to run my Harlequins, with other Eldar support.

You can check out the full game in the video above (or here) so I won't go into the gameplay too much. Instead I just want to run through the list I ran and my thought process, and where I could see taking it from there.

To start, the list first and foremost had to consist of models I had available, and preferably painted and done as they would be making a video appearance.  This did limit my options a fair bit. The second drive of the list was to be as competitive as possible within the restrictions. Third and final, my goal was to have the Harlequin element be the ITC Primary faction (and given how spendy they are that wasn't too hard).

Starting with the Harlequins, my collection is pretty limited, but fills out a Battalion quite nicely. Minus some equipment proxying, I was able to run a Troupe Master, Shadowseer, and three Troupes in Starweavers. I opted to run them as Soaring Spite, giving them a bunch of Fusion pistols, with the idea of running them as a mobile close-fire force.

To compliment the Harlequins I added some Eldar and Dark Eldar shooting support. The Dark Eldar ended up, thanks to lack of models ready to go, ended up as a Spearhead of an Archon and three Ravagers with Disintegrators from Kabal of the Black Heart (this is going to be a pretty staple splash-in). Then for the Craftworld element I opted for a Battalion to boost my CP, bringing a Farseer and Warlock, along with some Dire Avengers and a Wave Serpent. Finally I borrowed two units of Dark Reapers from Andrew. In the end I wound up with this list:

• Kabal of the Black Heart Spearhead
• Archon: Huskblade, Splinter Pistol, Writ of the Living Muse (Relic)
• Warlord: Labyrinthine Cunning
• 3x Ravager: 3 Disintegrator Cannons
• Masque of the Soaring Spite Battalion
• Shadowseer: Faolchu's Talon (Relic), Shuriken Pistol
• Troupe Master: Power Sword (The Storied Sword - Relic), Fusion Pistol
• Troupe: 5 Players, 3 Harlequin's Kiss, 4 Fusion Pistol
• Troupe: 5 Players, 5 Fusion Pistol
• Troupe: 5 Players, 5 Harlequin's Caress, 1 Fusion Pistol
• 3x Starweaver: 2 Shuriken Cannons
• Alaitoc Battalion
• Farseer: Doom, Executioner
• Warlock: Protect/Jinx
• 2x 5 Dire Avengers: Exarch
• 5 Rangers
• 2x 3 Dark Reapers: Exarch w/ Tempest Launcher
• Wave Serpent: Twin Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones

After the game, I was first off very impressed with the Ravagers - they were pretty rude, particularly since I was facing such a Primaris heavy list. The Dark Eldar have a bunch of nasty tools and options, and would definitely consider expanding them to become a battalion for more command points and more shooting with three or four Venoms and Warriors riding inside.

The Harlequins were much less so, but partly because I misplayed them a bit, and also they just drew the full attention of Phil's firepower in the early turns, which has value. That said, at least combined with the rest of the list, the Soaring Spite and Fusion heavy list feels a bit like a trap. I could see going a little more combat weapon focused with the Masque of Midnight Sorrow, or even swapping over to a Supreme Command of a couple Troupe Masters with a Solitaire and Shadowseer.

From the Craftworlds detachment, the Dire Avengers were a fairly empty slot filler, though the Rangers were about the same. If I was to tweak the list I might swap one or both units of Dire Avengers for Rangers simply because they are flexible and fairly durable from shooting. The Dark Reapers also felt a little lackluster, but that can partly be due to some poor target priority on my part.

A quick revamp of the list, with only minor changes, might end up looking like this:

• Kabal of the Black Heart Spearhead
• Archon: Huskblade, Splinter Pistol, Writ of the Living Muse (Relic)
• Warlord: Labyrinthine Cunning
• 3x Ravager: 3 Disintegrator Cannons
• Venom: 2 Splinter Cannons
• Masque of the Midnight Sorrow Battalion
• Shadowseer: Suit of Hidden Knives (Relic), Shuriken Pistol
• Troupe Master: Power Sword (The Storied Sword - Relic), Fusion Pistol
• Troupe: 5 Players, 3 Harlequin's Kiss, 1 Fusion Pistol
• Troupe: 5 Players, 3 Harlequin's Embrace, 1 Fusion Pistol
• Troupe: 5 Players, 2 Harlequin's Caress
• 3x Starweaver: 2 Shuriken Cannons
• Alaitoc Battalion
• Farseer: Doom, Executioner
• Warlock: Protect/Jinx
• 5 Dire Avengers: Exarch
• 2x 5 Rangers
• 2x 3 Dark Reapers: Exarch w/ Tempest Launcher
• Wave Serpent: Twin Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones

Again, very small tweaks. Beyond that, as mentioned, I would probably drop the Troupes and add another Troupe Master, freeing up points for Kabalite Warriors in Venoms or Raiders. I hope you enjoyed the game, and let me know what you would do with the list.