Eldar Aspect Warriors

Hey, folks!
Time for another post. So why not a big one? With pictures?
Anyway, this will be about aspect warriors. What they're good at, good formations of them, etc.
So let's start off with the bad boys pictured above.

-Dire Avengers: All in all, a good unit. At 12 points per model, with a few sexy upgrades and a moderate statline, I really can't complain. Dire Avengers are known for not sucking in close combat OR shooting. Frankly, they are better at shooting, but with the proper layout, they will do ok in the assault. They are, however, slightly killable at T3 with a 4+ save. A nice thing about them is, their guns can have 3 S4 shots each, meaning they are good for killing hordes, but not so much vehicles. They are also troops, which is nice. A good layout, coming it at 152pts, is 10 Dire Avengers, one is an exarch with 2 catapults, who also knows bladestorm. This means 22 shots per turn or 32 shots every 2 turns.

-Howling Banshees: A very specialized unit. You want these girls hacking away at stuff with a 4+ and better save. In case you aren't sure why, it's because every single one of these gals has a power weapon! Their free masks also make them initiative 10 in the first round of combat. They are, however, S3, so a full 10 or a support farseer casting doom is required for the enemy to feel the full fury of Banshees. At 16 points per gal, and only as survivable as Dire Avengers, I suggest a transport or heavy cover for them. Also, I've found that they make excellent retinues for a farseer. I suggest taking a bare 10 gal squad, with a possible upgrade or two if you have the points.

-Fire Dragons: A wonderful unit in my experience. 16 points per model, same statline as a banshee or avenger. These guys, however, are each carrying a fusion gun and meltabombs. This means that they can blow up tanks without even trying. I'll also note that a S8 AP1 gun will kill space marines and equally tough foes with ease. They will attract a lot of gunfire, so don't leave them exposed, and try not to get them into close combat with anything stronger than imperial guardsmen. As far as upgrades go, don't even bother. These little fellows are great no matter how little points you put into 'em. Also, one of the more versatile units in my opinion. You have to play them to realize this, though. I know that melta weapons don't seem too versatile at first glance...

-Striking Scorpions: I haven't looked into these guys too much, but they work alright. They are geared for close combat, and have the same statline/points cost as a howling banshee. However, they have a 3+ armor save over the banshee's 4+ and no power weapon. They do have free wargear that grants them both +1 attack and +1 strength, however. They can also get a few toys for close combat like a power fist, or even buy the ability to infiltrate. These guys excel at killing units with poor saves such as massed imperial guardsmen or orks. With a better armor save, these guys are actually quite tough, too. The higher strength also lets them glance vehicles possibly. These guys appear to be a more versatile version of howling banshees, but they have a smaller chance of killing a lot. They aren't that nail-biter unit that the enemy is afraid of. (That can be good or bad.)

-Dark Reapers: Again, not much experience with this unit. Oddly taking up a heavy support option, you'd expect these guys to be hard-hitters. Nah, not really. They look good, with a 2 shot, 48" range S5 AP3 weapon and a 3+ armor save. However, the points cost kills them. They are 35 points per model, more than double the cost of a scorpion, banshee or fire dragon. You can also only have up to 5 man squads. Overall, their guns won't hurt vehicles that much (if any), and they aren't even AP2. It's easy to tell that these guys were meant to kill space marines. However, a 5 man squad will kill 4 marines on average per turn. That's 64 points worth of kills, while the unit costs 175 points. A one-trick pony in my opinion, and not even slightly worth it unless you know you're going up against space marines. Even then, probably not worth it.

-Swooping Hawks: Pretty interesting unit, actually. Same statline as a dire avenger, but with a jump pack, and 21 points per model. The guns aren't very good, S3, AP5, assault 2, 24" range. I don't think GW made this unit with guns in mind though. They have haywire grenades, which are amazing at messing up vehicles at close range. They also deep strike, and can go back into reserve once in play. Whenever they deep strike, they place a large blast template with S4 AP5 anywhere on the table. This unit appears to be ideal for distraction and annoyance. However, this unit probably isn't worth it unless you base your army around helping their effectiveness. It is a very FUN unit, though, and I've enjoyed all of the games where I used them. This unit gets an A+ for bringing fun back to the game.

-Warp Spiders: 22 points per model may seem like a lot, but I absolutely love these guys. They are very fast, deadly to any kind of unit, tough, and they don't fold in the assault. Now, when I say fast, I mean that these guys can move 30" per turn possibly. There's a very slim chance that you will move 30, but the average movement is 22-23", which is still very fast. Now, their guns are downright great. Short range, but they are S6, AP-, assault 2. Yeah, they don't pen armor, but they are high strength and multiple shot. 10 of these guys could probably rip through any kind of unit, including vehicles. I've had 3 of these guys wreck a rhino before. You can also give their exarch a power weapon, that, thanks to a hole in the rules, gives him 5 attacks on the charge. This and a 3+ armor save makes them ok in the assault. Throw these guys against any reasonable situation short of a land raider, and they will rarely fail you.

-Shining Spears: These are hit or miss. They are Pretty darn tough, hit hard, and move fast, but they aren't cheap, and overall are easier to wipe out than a 10 man unit of spiders. They are T4 with a 3+ save, making them as durable as space marines. They also have a lance that counts as a S6 power weapon. Now, this is amazing, but you can only take squads of 5, and they are 35 points each without upgrades. While these guys hit hard, they fold to power weapons, just like marines. Truth is, I'm not spending 35 points on a guy that will crumple under a squad with a power fist. Maybe worth it, but probably not. If you do end up taking them, send them at squads with good armor saves. They will do a lot of damage until the enemy freaks out and shoots them.

Now, I will rate the Aspect Warriors on which ones I think are the best. Note that I am judging them based around stand-alone preformance.

#8: Dark Reapers. These guys suck at everything but shooting space marines. They're too expensive, too.

#7: Swooping Hawks. The truth is, I really hate to put these guys at #7, but they're just too easy to kill for being 21 points. They are good at annoying units, and I've seen amazing things from these guys, but they just aren't reliable enough.

#6: Shining Spears. They kill stuff easily, but they aren't durable enough to be 35 points per dude. These guys would be way further down if they were 5 less points per guy.

#5: Dire Avengers. These guys are the worst of the best. Yes, they're cheap, but they can't reliably kill much without support. They also have pretty much no tank killing capability.

#4: Howling Banshees. These girls can be amazing as well as terrifying, but they just aren't very versatile. They excel at one thing, which is killing stuff with good armor. Still an amazing unit, though.

#3: Striking Scorpions. It was a close call between these guys and the banshees, but the math-hammer shows that these guys are more reliable when you don't know what army you're facing. They are also pretty tough to kill. Versatility is a very good thing to look for in Eldar units.

#2: Fire Dragons. An amazing unit. Not the most versatile, but they will kill pretty much anything if they're in range.

#1: Warp Spiders. A close call, but this unit is just too versatile to be topped by any aspect warrior. I'm not saying everyone should take these guys, but warp spiders are definitely versatile. They will preform amazingly in the hands of a skilled player.

Thanks for reading!