The Aeldari are renowned for their speed and the Asuryani are no exception. Here is where the most manoeuvrable units reside, and they aren't slouches when it comes to firepower either.
Windriders
This unit is defined by it's 16" move and ability to advance 6", no rolling. Keep the Twin Shuriken Catapult or upgrade to Shuriken Cannon for mobile infantry slaughter. Or, keep them static and give them Scatter Lasers to keep them further away from the enemy, and use their massive speed if you need to redeploy to find new targets.
Or play Saim-Hann and use your Craftworld Trait to have the best of both worlds, this unit being one of two the Heavy Weapon part of their Trait is built for. The Fly keyword lets them both ignore terrain while moving, and still shoot should they Fall Back from combat.
Until 7th Edition, the upgrade options were 1 in every 3 bikes. The change to allowing all to upgrade lead to units focusing on certain types of firepower.
Vypers
Mobile firepower at it's finest. They have a 16" move that increases to 20" if there are 3 models in the unit. Each one has a Shuriken Cannon and a Twin Shuriken Catapult. You can upgrade the Catapults into a Cannon, for maximum mobile Shuriken fire, slaughtering infantry much like the Windriders. Or you can give them your choice of Heavy Weapon, getting -1 to hit when you move, but giving a cheap platform for Bright Lances or Aeldari Missile Launchers.
Again, Saim-Hann ignore the -1 to hit for Heavy Weapons on Bikers, so they excel here. They will be mobile tank hunters in with Lances/Missiles, or exceptionally mobile infantry hunters with 2 Shuriken Cannons.
Long gone are the days of 2nd Edition, where you could remove the heavy gun platform and instead mount a character on the back so they could ride around in style.
Swooping Hawks
And the award for most improved from the Index goes to - Swooping Hawks. And that's awarded for one simple change. Lasblasters have gone from 24" Range, Rapid Fire 2; to 24" Range, Assault 4. They have even dropped in points to boot. They've kept the ability to Deep Strike, cause Mortal Wounds as they arrive/move and even re-enter Reserves to come back the turn after. The Exarch still gives an aura bubble of +1 Leadership too.
Deep Strike these guys in far away from the opponent. Use their 24" Range to target the Infantry unit you want to kill and let rip. This should keep them out of combat, where they really don't want to be. Don't worry about the opponents army moving away, their 14" Move and Battle Focus should keep their targets in range. If things get too hot where they are, leave the board and return elsewhere the next turn.
This unit is one of the units that made the Eldar appeal to me in 2nd Edition, and drew me to Eldar as my first army. The ability to leave and re-enter the battlefield while dropping grenades sounded really fun, and still is.
Warp Spiders
From 3rd Edition onwards, this has become a strange unit. Their weapons, while okay, always seem to be outclassed by others in the army. I think their role in 8th is as a very mobile unit for grabbing and holding Objectives. They can sacrifice the ability to Advance or Charge, to move 7+4d6" and gain the Fly keyword. That gives them an average of 21" to get to the correct Objective. They can even set up in Deep Strike, though you risk losing a member on a double 1.
To help clear out anyone near the Objective, they have Range 12", Assault 2 weapons that gain -4 AP on a 6 to wound. The amount of shots can even help with Overwatch. To help them keep the Objective, the Exarch lets them re-roll Morale tests, and they can Flickerjump. Again risking losing a model on a double 1, this gives your opponent -1 to hit them in Shooting.
In 2nd Edition, the Death Spinner used the Heavy Flamer template. I'm not sure why the stats couldn't have been adjusted and let them keep the template rule, giving Craftworld Eldar a unit for clearing out horde units. Alas, it just wasn't meant to be, until D-Scythes.
Shining Spears
Much like ancient Knights looking for Dragons to slay, these guys are hunting Monsters and Vehicles while mounted on trusty steeds. Much like Windriders, they Move 16" and Advance 6". That gets them to where they are needed, while a 4+ Invulnerable Save against ranged weapons helps keep them alive. While they have Twin Shuriken Catapults for killing threatening infantry, that isn't their job.
Their Lances are what make them. They have an AP of -4 for both shooting and combat, and a Damage value of 2. The Laser Lance is Strength 6 for shooting and on the Charge, while the Exarch's Star Lance is Strength 8. The Exarch also gets to re-roll wounds against Vehicles and Monsters. This makes them superb for hunting Tyranid Monsters, denying your opponent Synapse and Shadow in the Warp at a key part of the Battlefield. With the Fly Keyword, they can also hunt enemy aircraft, something your opponent may not realise until it is too late.
While the Windriders got a model upgrade, the current models for Shining Spears are still mounted on the 2nd Edition plastic jetbike models.
With the end of Part Seven having arrived, it's time to tell you that Part Eight will be about the seven choices for Heavy Support.
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