I tried the Cancon winning list on Thursday against dptdexys Codex SM- a list that's won tournaments and came 6th yesterday at FSA. Something like strike cruiser, landing craft, 2 x thawks, 2 x terminators - 1 with SC, 1 with Chaplain, 2 x scouts, devs in pods, 2 x tbolts and pred Annihilators with hunter.
I took it that the Eldar list played much like a list I've used in the past
http://epic-uk.co.uk/ukepicachampionshi ... d=81&aid=4 with rangers screening the shooty formations clumped round AA with the spears and guardians responding to formations that overreached trying to get through the screen.
Dptdexys knows how to set up a spaceship so put the objectives spread out at the edges and near the midline to make it difficult to screen with the rangers. I deployed with a fairly full screen with units spread as much as possible so the barrage would only hit 2 main formations wherever it went.
The barrage hit a shining spear formation (killing 4 including the Autarch, broke the night spinners with 1 kill and killed a ranger opening a gap in the screen. Drop pod didn't even need the screen removed as it dropped outside where the ZoC would have been, retained and broke a falcon formation. I used the void spinners and there were various other activations including the devs being wiped out by the guardians.
Then Dave brought on the LC, it landed 46cm away from the 2nd falcon formation (so outside the AA bubble) and the preds unloaded within 5cm so they were then <45cm from the falcons and therefore in range - falcons destroyed and all AA gone.
I managed to hold it to 0-2 courtesy of getting to go first turns 2+3 but the loss of all AA meant the tbolts and thawks could do what they want all game.
As I posted above I used to run something similar - rangers screened 2 void spinners, 2 falcons and prisms then vampire aspects dealt with any formations that came forward to get through the screen. It used to be very effective but has become less so as players have learned to deal with it in a few ways
- spaceships (not just SM ones) are really popular in the UK and this present problems with the small formations and poor saves of Eldar. Barrage and drop podding devs have no real defence for the Eldar, ranger screens are too easily dealt with or bypassed.
- as part of above opponents have learned to be more aggressive. If elder get to do what they want then they are great but get at them, get BMs on etc and they fade away
- part of that is players recognising that the most important task on turn 1 regardless of if they have pods or not is to kill the rangers. Then turn 2 the opponent can threaten and disrupt the spinners, falcons etc.
I'd regard the wave serpent build as the more powerful at the moment.
The game I played confirmed my view of Spears as well - situationally brilliant but not all rounders. Unless your opponent presents you with a RA target within 35cm then they aren't that great. On top of that they present a very vulnerable target as they can't get into cover. The only times I'd ever use them is to make mounted aspects cheaper by having 1 or 2 in a formation