I'm alive!

So, 6th Edition Happened.

Needless to say, it changed a lot of how we play the game. To whit - random assault ranges, Overwatch, Flyers, random psychic powers, Fortifications, Hull Points, Allies etc.

How has this affected the game?

Well, it ranges from "Not much" to "I may as well be playing a different system" depending on your army and list. I'm going to keep looking at various aspects of the game, focusing particularly on the new Eldar release, as they are my very favourite army. (I call her "Vera"!)

These were my initial thoughts on the codex...

HQs

Warlord Traits: I personally don't like the 1-use-only concept. I'd rather have Stealth: Ruins all game rather than have it once for everything within 12", for example. As always, they're too random to build an army list around, so if you get one that fits, great, if not, it doesn't really matter.

Eldrad: Functionally identical to what he was before. Still redeploys units, still spams powers. Level 4 means he can chuck out 2x WC2 powers per turn with the option for another single WC on average. However he can no longer cast the same power twice, limiting his abuse of the new and improved powers available to us. His melee skills also improved slightly, he now has a Force Weapon at AP3.

Yriel: Essentially unchanged, Warlord Trait is nice for shuriken fans and that's about it.

Illic: Has Shrouded, but not Stealth, meaning the logical choice is to put him with Rangers so they all get a +3 to their cover. Can get as close to the enemy as he likes, but unlike Marbo has no demo charge equivalent, so why would you put a sniper right up in the enemies face? Ditto for his special rule allowing him to drag a unit of rangers to him as well. Not only are you bringing them closer to the enemy (bad plan) they can only snap shoot when they deep strike, and can't even run afterwards. I simply don't understand the concept of what they were trying to achieve with this rule. Has the potential to pull off some stylish kills with a D-Cannon Rifle but overall I can't see him displacing our Psykers as HQ choices.

Phoenix Lords: Still expensive, but better. Some neat little rules (Karandras decking most MCs by himself, Jain Zar granting a potential D6+7" run move to Banshees etc) but overall not worth the points nor the opportunity cost of skipping a Seer or Autarch.

Avatar: Buffed, certainly. Also significantly more expensive. The addition of Fleet and a wound is appreciated, but the loss of a point of Invul and an extra 45pts on the price tag is not. He can take two Exarch powers that are worth the points - Fast Shot and Monster Hunter. I would never take both, but one or the other would serve him well if you're looking to spend your last 10pts in a list that includes him.

Autarchs: Remains similar to last edition, being a very tool-boxey character. Still functions as a useful buffstick to a Jetseer unit, and is even better as a solo "cleaner" unit since Jetbikes are now 15pts and you can strap stealth, shroud, hit and run, and rerolling failed cover saves on for another 40pts.

Farseers: The default HQ choice now they're ML3 for 100pts. All the runes are pointless, and it's really personal choice on what lores you give him, because each does different things. I need to test the Runes of Fate more, but I think all three choices are very playable with the right supporting units.

Spiritseers: Scoring Wraithguard. Nuff said. Can cast *2* Warlock powers per turn, making them instantly the default choice for accompanying any beatstick unit such as Wraithblades, foot-councils or Harlies.

Warlocks: Still expensive at 35pts and now have to take a Psychic Test to cast, which at Ld8 is far from reliable. However a big unit on Jetbikes is even more of a terror than it was previously - being able to stack a multitude of buffs on themselves in combination with a Farseer, while at the same time debuffing the enemy.


Troops

Dire Avengers: I *like* Dire Avengers, so I will probably keep at least one unit of them in my army, however they are definitely the losers of the Troop slot, even if it's by a small margin. The pseudo-rending on all Shuriken based weaponry is nice, but the loss of Bladestorm is a real hit against them. The addition of the Counter-Attack rule to them is useful given that we can no longer assault out of even stationary Serpents. However if they're getting assaulted then having a few extra S3 AP- attacks isn't going to alter the result in any meaningful fashion.

Guardians (Defender): BS4!!! Finally! However a commensurate price increase - 1pt more per model. And now the heavy weapon can actually be killed (why?). Rending means they can actually be a significant threat to even MCs and Marines with their shooting, which makes them non-ignorable in large numbers, especially with Psychic Suppport. However they are still 12" range guns so even with Battle Focus you're going to get 1 round of shooting and 1 round of overwatch before dissolving in melee. You can, however, now hit things reliably with their heavy weapon (which is relentless so can run and shoot).

Guardians (Storm): You'd think that WS4 would be the noticable improvement for these guys, but actually having BS4 Melta in a unit other than Fire Dragons is more important. Even with WS4 you're going to get panned by Marines (avoid the 15pt power weapons - a waste of time) due to S3/T3 and a 5+ (although a Warlock can potentially help on all of those counts). Not my personal favourite, but having one unit in your army wouldn't hurt.

Jetbikes: The very obvious winner of the Troops section. Twin linked near-rending combined with an Assault phase move and Shuricannons with the sexy new BS4 makes them far more killy than they were, and they also received a 5pt price drop. I'll take two squads, thanks. However bear in mind that large units are very unwieldy - I'd stick to 6 with an optional Warlock for some nice survival buffs - Shrouded and Jink saves? Nice.

Rangers: Became cheaper, but lost their special AP1 rule, which is a shame, because now they're BS4 SM scouts without the ML or 4+ armour. But they have stealth natively, obviously still infiltrate, and serve an identical role to last codex - backfield or wide flank scoring unit. Continue to avoid combat or flamers/artillery and you'll be A-ok with them.