Tiny-Tim wrote:
Let me suggest a simple change - rather than a second retain having the same -1 modifier as the first let it be cumulative and become -2. This is something that is often expected by new players facing this list.
Farsight would be slightly modified to only reduce the retain modifier by 1, so a double retaining Guardian formation would now have a -1 to activate.
I think that this change would be workable through the Eldar lists and is simple to test as it only affects the Eldar once per turn, assuming that they actually use this.
This is actually a great idea IMO. It is a really simple but effective change that doesn't completely turn the list on its head. The great thing about the eldar special rules is that they are elegant - simple tweaks but to major game mechanics which changes the way the army plays fundamentally. Most other changes you could make to eldar would have many consequences that are very difficult to disentangle.
Another similar change could be for the second retain to only apply to the formation with farsight. Normally the order of activations is very important so this would seriously limit the impact of the rule and take care of the double spinner scorpion alpha strike.
Its worth saying though, in my experience being able to triple retain rolling assault at will is actually fairly rare against canny opponents. But when a rolling assault does happen it tends to win you the game. On the triple alpha strike - there's less your opponent can do to prevent it but is often not as effective as it appears at first glance and is less of a game winner. Both are certainly frustrating for an opponent and skew the game though. So making that 'upper limit effect' harder to achieve seems a reasonable thing to do.
I have to admit to being a bit dumbfounded with Mard's response. This entire thread IS ITSELF the rest of the community taking the concerns of the Aussies seriously. Pretty ironic to complain on this very thread that people on the internet arent doing what you want. Seriously think you need to step out of your echo chamber and accept the olive branch that's being offered here.