Why wraithguard in a ghost warrior detachment are troops:

Early morn I picked up the new data slate salivating at the prospect of some free USR's for my wraith army.  Well, I was not blown away, but after some thought the rules have grown on me.  The first thing that struck me was that if I selected the detachment it appeared I would loose three troops choices in the bargain.  Unlike the Marine and Tau data slates, the Eldar one is made up of troops.  It's a big deal to loose them given the high cost you pay to put wraithguard on the table.  Reading the rules more carefully; however, I think if you take a spirit seer in your primary detachment, the wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment become troops. 

First stage in the analysis is to look at the relevent rules:

Eldar Codex:

-If a wraith seer is selected all wraithguard/blades in the ARMY move from elites to troops.
-All squads, vehicles and characters in the army are placed into a FOC slot depending upon their role on the battlefield.

Eldar Data Slate:

-A formation is a special detachment.
-The army list entries for units part of a detachment can be found in the codex corresponding to the faction the formation belongs to, including battlefield roles.


So at first I thought that because an army includes all detachments the spirit seer rule trumps all and wraithguard must be troops no matter what detachment they come from.  The problem with this proposition is that the spirit seer rule also explicitly states that the wraithguard shift from elites to troops.  The ghost warrior detachment makes no mention of what FOC slot the wraithguard belong to.  The problem that arises is that while the first condition of the spirit seer rule is satisfied (all wraithguard in the army) the second condition of the rule (FOC slots) can not be addressed.  So I thought to myself rules as written, wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment cannot become troops.

Not satisfied with this answer I dug a bit deeper.  Looking at the data slate rules for these special formations there was a clear link drawn between the data slate and the parent codex.  It is explicitly mentioned that individual rules for the units listed as part of the detachment can be found in the parent codex.  A number of examples are then listed including battlefield roles.  I was not really sure what exactly battlefield roles referred to so I cracked open my Eldar codex to take a look.  Under the 'using the army list' heading the rules state that unit entries are placed into FOC slots based on battlefield roles.  So there appears to be a direct connection between battlefield roles and FOC slots.

If this is the case then the wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment now has a FOC slot assigned to it.  I believe this proposition is buttressed by the compulsion to look at the parent codex to determine the particular rules of a unit that make up part of the formation.  I suggest this means that the wraithguard selected as part of the special detachment has an FOC slot assigned to them.  This would then mean that the second component to the spirit seer special rule could be applied to these wraithguard.  As the spirit seer rule is army wide and not limited to detachments, the wraithguard from the ghost warrior detachment would move from the elite FOC slot to the Troop FOC slot as soon as a spirit seer was selected from the primary detachment.

I think it is important to note that while the wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment become troops if a spirit seer is selected in the primary detachment, those same wraithguard do not satisfy the troop requirements of the primary detachment.  So 2-6 troop choices must be selected from the primary detachment.

Putting this all together I think the ghost warrior detachment provides a lot of options then when designing an Eldar list.  Without taking an allied detachment the Eldar player can (when a spirit seer is taken as an HQ) include up to 9 troop choices and 6 heavy slots (3 of which must be 2 wraithlords and a wraithknight).  In essence the Eldar book can now ally with itself to a limited extent without giving up the ability to take a secondary detachment.  I think this makes the ghost warrior detachment a very solid choice when building a list.

1500 Point Iyanden Army Ready To Test

So I've had the opportunity to get a couple of games under my belt with a few different 1250 Iyanden lists.  Now its time to build up to 1500k.  The above army includes:

HQ:
Spirit Seer

Troops:
2 x 5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Guard with D-Scythes - Wave Serpent - Shuriken Cannons up and down
10 Avengers - Wave Serpent - Scatter Lasers

Heavy:
Swordlord - flamers
Wraithlord - flamers, 2 starcannons
Wraithknight

Total Points: 1500

I've added the avengers to help deal with hordes and to add another quick element to the army.  Loving the swordlord, the wraithlord with 2 starcannons not so much.  Moving up to 1850 I'll reintroduce the 5 wraithblades and flesh out the army with some more pyschic support.  Its become a very fun army to play.

Cypher home for the holidays?

Just took a look at the new GW teaser trailer.  I'm going out on a limb but I think the warrior returning from the shadows just might be Cypher...

Hybrid Iyanden Army to Tackle New Space Marines

Hobby time stalled out last week and I've only got back to getting my 1250 list together.  The 5 wraith blades are assembled with only 4 more d-scyths to go.  I cannot stress how cool these wraithguard models are.  I really want to make them work.  Once the list is built I can get some games in at my FLGS. I've been thinking lately though that a hybrid army might be the way to go using wave serpents and wraith axes for bigger games.

With the prevalence of marine bikes I've been thinking that bubble wrapping 20 wraith units around 4 wave serpents might be a good idea.  Wave serpents die hard to assaults.  Especially assaulting marines. With the wraith blades you can provide some good interference.  I think this could really be effective if combined with rangers to provide another layer of defence.  The list I'm thinking about would look something like this.

HQ:
Baharroth

Elite:
2 x 10 wraithguard/blades

Troops:
2 x 5 rangers
4 x 5 avengers - serpent, holo, lasers

Heavy:
Wraithknight

Total Points: 1995

So the way I see the list working is the rangers infiltrate to prevent scout moves.  The wraith units set up as close the opponent as possible and push forward blocking incoming assaults to the wave serpents. The wave serpents set up on the board edge as far away from the opponent as possible.  The wraithknight stays with the wave serpents to provide the last layer of defence against assaults and drop pods.  Baharroth can join units that might require hit and run.  He also can bully weak units or scoot forward to help out rangers.  Just a rough idea but I'm trying to come up with a productive way to utilize the wraith guard models.  At any rate I'll play some games with my 1250 list before putting more wraith units together.

Working away at Iyanden

Started putting wraith blades together, they look deadly.  As I'm wont to do I've been rethinking my list. Because I'm not taking two squads of bog standard wraithguard I'm wondering if I need the farseer.  2 HQ's is a lot of points when I have so few models on the table top.  It might be better to drop the farseer and take a unit of 5 jetbikes and give the wave serpent holo-fields.

Moving up then to 1500 I can take another squad of wraithguard and perhaps 3 shadow weavers.  Then beyond an Autarch on jetbike with soulshrive and banshee mask.  Seeing as this is Iyanden I could also fit in a hemlock wraithfighter.

Just brainstorming really, going to keep on modeling though.

Almost There: 1250 Iyanden Starter List

I've settled on my 1250 list and have begun getting it assembled.  As you can see in the photo above it is very minimal.  I will build play and paint this list to get a feel for what is needed to expand it.  Here we go:

HQ:
Farseer
Spirit Seer - Helm

Troops:
5 Wraith Guard - D-Scyths, Wave Serpent, Scatter Lasers
5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Blade - Axes

Heavy:
Wraithlord - 2 Star Cannons
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1250 on the nose
Total Models: 20 (ohs nose)

Only point of contention I have with the list right now (other than the extreme low model count) is whether or not to replace the wraith blades with bog standard wraith guard.  Variety being the spice of life I've decided to go with the axes in leu of more shooting.  The wraithblades will camp my board edge objective along with the wraithlord.  The wraith blades can bubble wrap the wraithlord adding some extra protection from drop pod assaults and other nasty surprises.  The 4++ save makes them very hardy against hell drakes as well.  With that squad goes the spirit seer.

The Farseer will attach to the wraith guard squad and roll on the divination tree.  Goal is to get the 4++ save power.  This squad pushes forward mid field supported by the wraith knight.  The d-scyth wraith guard can push a flank or intervene where needed.

As for anti air I have 5 guided strength 10 shots and my wave serpent.  Not the best but the Eldar do not have great options in this department.  Because of this, part of me is thinking that I should replace the wraithblades with another 5 wraithguard.  I forgoe durability for the ability to twin link 10 strength 10 shots.

The wraithlord I equiped with 2 starcannons.  His job is to provide supporting fire focusing on heavy infantry.  Because he is a character he will get a precision shot on a roll of a six.  This will help me take out special weapons such as grav guns on bikes.  The spirit seer gives him battle focus so I have a limited ability to jump shoot jump with him.  I did not give him the sword as I don't think he needs it.  He can smash attack to get to strength ten if required.  If strength 10 is not required then strength 9 really is not that much different than strength 8.  The master crafted aspect is nice but I want to keep him shooting.  I get this ability at any rate with the spirit mark from the spirit seer.

Not sure what I will do beyond 1250.  Once the 1250 is assembled and painted I should have a few games under my belt.  I'll turn my mind to growing the list then.  In closing here is a close up photo of the assembled wraithlord.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Reminds me of the spartan destroid from robotech.

Trouble Building Iyanden List

So I really want to build an Iyanden list.  The problem is I don't know how to go about doing it.  What I do know is that I wan't a variety of different wraith units in the army.  As it stands I have 30 wraith guard, 2 wraith lords, the wraith knight and a spirit seer to work with.  I've come up with a 500 point list that I will finish building and painting before moving on.  I figure I should be able to spring board into the army after this is done.

HQ:
Spirit Seer

Troops:
10 Guardians - Bright Lance
5 Wraith Guard

Heavy:
Wraithlord - 2 Star Cannons

Total Points: 500

Nothing to drastic here.  I went with the star cannons on the wraithlord simply because I think it would look cool to mount the star cannons on the arms of the wraithlord.  I could swap them out for bright lances making the wraithlord look like a mini wraith knight but I like the look of the star cannons better.

Growing the list from here though has me stumped.  Eventually I want both wraith lords and the wraith knight in the list.  This eats up a ton of points (400 to be exact).  I also want to include some wraith blades of both varieties because the models look so cool.   But again having trouble fitting it all into a list. I do have one wave serpent that I've already primed yellow.  I plan to put 5 D-Scyths into it.  This unit is 340 points by itself.

With the above three blocks of mini's completed I'm looking at 1240 points total.  The army would look like this:

HQ:
Spirit Seer

Troops:
10 Guardians - Bright Lance
5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Guard - D-Scyths, Wave Serpent, Holo Field

Heavy:
2 x Wraithlords - 2 Star Cannons
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1240

I still have not added any wraith blades yet.  I also think some jet bikes would go a long way in rounding out the list or some swooping hawks.  I don't need the army to be the hardiest list around but I don't want it to fall on its face every time I play a game.  I could add in another 20 wraith guard bringing the total in the army up to 30.  This would sky rocket my total points to 1910 points.  I could drop the guardians bringing the total points down to 1800.  I also should be looking to put hit and run into the list. Either through allies or Barroth.  I like the idea of Barroth because no know one ever uses him.  So at 2k the list might look like this:

HQ:
Barroth
Spirit Seer - Helm

Troops:
10 Wraith Blades - axes or swords
3 x 5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Guard - D-Scyths, Wave Serpent, Holo Field

Heavy:
2 x Wraithlords - 2 Star Cannons
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1995

What would look really cool would be to run a wraithseer in the list.  Replace Barroth with a the WS + EML would bring the list up to a cool 2k.  At the end of the day this would look awesome on the table top.  Hate investing a ton of time into an army that is sub par though.

Anyway if you've made it this far into my ramblings thank you.  I'll start with the 500 points and go from there at any rate.  Still though I would like to have an idea of how the list should look at 2k but it escapes me.