Eldar Codex Review: Farseer

Next up is the Farseer, the pimp daddy of all HQ choices in the Eldar codex.  If you’re not using one, then your either using Eldrad, a dual Autarch build or have no intention of winning games.  Essentially, if you don’t have him/her in your list, you might want to make an appointment with a Phsyciartrist.  And that is said in all seriousness.  Of course there are some exceptions to this rule, however they are few and far between.

TACTIAL VALUE

I can sum this up in very few words: Space Elf Chuck Norris.  S/he tends to be orientated towards beefing up other Eldar units.  While they can hold their own in close combat, they generally wish to avoid it, in addition to other offensive tasks, unless you wish to run a full seer council (covered next week). 
The Farseer essentially revolves around the use of the warp, having 5 main spells, almost all of which are extremely useful.

++Doom++

One of my favourite powers, don’t leave home without it.  If you want an enemy killed quickly, use doom, shoot it, then assault, considerably buffing Banshees, helping them overcome their limitations of having S3 and Dire Avengers, particularly with Bladestorm used in conjunction with them.    I know I wouldn’t like to receive an obscene number of shuirkens with re rolls to wound coming at my squad, particularly if I were playing Grey Knights, with large amounts of points relying on that passing that 3+ armour save numerous times over. 

Also, be sure to shout out DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! every time you use it, particularly if your opponent shouts out “FOR THE EMPRAH!’, “METAL BAWXES?”, “SPHESS MAHRIEENS” and “WAAAAGH!”.

Think of it as a hypocritical indulgence

++Fortune++

Another excellent power, though it only benefits a single unit, however will benefit them greatly, particularly when hiding in cover.  If you are running a foot list, this is a must take power, even more so with the Avatar, being a essential component of such an army.

TL;DR, if you have the points, grab it.

++Guide++

If you have Warwalkers of lots of Guardians, then not even Big Brother and the entire damn ministry of peace should be able to convince you not to take them.

Its always seeing the look on your opponents face as he realises what casting it on a bunch of Warwalkers with Scatter Lasers will do to those little Marines of his. (Assuming that like everyone, he is playing Marines…. Sigh; don’t get me started on that) Suffice to say, they now know fear… That was a pun! Geddit? Geddit? Sigh, my comedic genius is being wasted on you guys.

Also, when used with Doom, particularly on your heavy hitting units like Fire Dragons and Dark Reapers, carnage should ensure.

++Mind War++

I want to love it, I really do.  On paper, it looks pretty awesome, capable of sniping those pesky characters and squad leaders with power fists etc. with relative ease.  However, it doesn’t successfully translate during gameplay for several reasons.  Its targets tend to have high enough Ld to make the power a bit of a gamble, also the Farseer needs to get too close to the enemy for my liking to use it effectively.  I don’t really recommend taking this, unless you are confident in using it, perhaps having a different play style to me.  If so, please drop a comment below to enlighten the masses.

++Eldritch Storm++

No.  Just no.  I have enough S3 already thanks, and I’d rather buy a better power that actually is useful.

Our heroic little seer also has several wargear options worth considering.  The Singing Spear is a love/hate weapon for Eldar players.  For 3 points, I take it every time, also buffing your anti-tank potential.  If you’re complaining about losing the extra attack, then I ask, why are you planning on using that? Don’t get your seer into close combat, unless absolutely necessary, so you really shouldn’t worry too much about losing the attack.

Runes of warding, put simply should always be taken., period.  It increases their average chance of perils by almost 7 times and successes drop to 50% on a Ld 10 model, which should be expected with the marine spam we see these days.

Grey Knights’ new spell spam takes a massive blow as well from RoW

Let’s back it up with some maths then… (Rounded to the nearest percent)

Unmodified w/ Ld 10:        Perils and failure,      3%

                                                Perils and success     3%

                                                Failure                        5%

                                                Success                       89%

Ld 10 against  Runes:         Perils and failure,      38%

                                                Failure                        12%

                                                Success                       50%

Point proven? Take the damn things….

Our other Runes however, namely Runes of Witnessing, are more controversial.  I love them, others don’t.  They increase your chance of rolling a double 1 sadly, but do help avoid results far too high.  The choice is yours. 

Spirit Stones should always be taken.

Spirit Stones should always be taken. 

Spirit Stones should always be taken.

Spirit Stones should always be taken. 

Spirit Stones should always be taken. 

Honestly, I can’t drum that into your head enough, though I am sure you’ll disagree…

The jet bike really should only be taken if your list has numerous jet bikes, or else it becomes redundant.  The 3+ save is very useful, however without sufficient support from the other bikes, it quickly will be shot down.  The Farseer can hide in a unit safely on foot, with the squad taking the wounds for her/him, reducing the likelihood of wounds than going solo.

Tl;DR, if you use lots of jet bikes, get one.  If you don’t, well don’t.

THEME

Well, I’m getting tired here so I may just paraphrase… This is taking some time.  Anyway, Ulthwe armies will almost always require a Farseer for fluff purposes, as with many other craftworlds as well, though not to the same degree, as each relies upon those who tread the Path of the Seer.

Harlequin counts as armies can use one as a Shadow Seer and Exodites will also be justified in choosing one.

Living like Bear Grylls doesn’t mean that the race forgot how to use the warp overnight, they just would be somewhat wary about its use, lacking the security given by the path. 

PAINTING AND MODELLING

To stop you guys from going TL;DR on me, I’ll keep this short and sweet. 

There are lots of models, all of decent quality and available in both resin and metal, hopefully appeasing both opposing parties. 

Painting is fairly simple, if you keep an eye out for all the bells and whistles.  Just paint it in your Craftworld colours and the rest as so you choose; though GW’s general scheme for these parts will work for most colours of the Farseer.

If you read all of this, give yourself an Internet cookie! All comments, criticisms and unfathomable rages are welcomed, except maybe the latter… My view differs to many others, so please post your own thoughts below!
Conflict is my friend, so I suppose that makes me a Fascist now.  Crap. Anyway, enough waffle!/thread