No, the NetEA lists don't have the grot rule. They have auto-rally, swarming, absorbing instead.

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Regarding formation size:
*Facepalm* I was thinking the Spirit Seer was his own unit for some reason. A five strong formation might be better - even if you drop units, you'd still be paying a hundred-odd point premium for it. Of course, right now it's a 150-200 point premium to do that...

Regarding other units, no other army can have more than 3 Wraithguard per formation, and they all come dragging Guardians with them.

Save:
It's 86.5% vs 75%, yes, but it doesn't give them a 4+ save against MW. I'd prefer 3+, anyway - they're not THAT tough.

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I agree that a 3+ save is appropriate for Wraithguard considering their 40K statline. It's just that there are so many lists that need to change then, possibly re-costing the upgrade too.

It's a simple, Iyanden-specific fix to just limit them to 4 units. 4 Wguard + 4 serpents is still a good engagement formation, and while they break easily, they're all fearless, so they don't run off just from breaking. It also makes it easier for Iyanden armies to reach two or three Spirit Warrior formations, opening up the options in the rest of the list a bit.

I agree that each Wguard should take up two seats in a Vampire, just like they do in serpents. Airborne Wguard are only relevant for Iyanden, so it could be added to the general Vampire statline without too much trouble.

One game, the first for the participants using the Iyanden list, seems to have generated a lot of strong feeling. I have read several places that some groups don’t allow Iyanden lists so doubtless it is a more widespread issue. I see my personal response has got rather long - joining the club!!?

Some observations on the reported game

Both commanders selected a very concentrated placement of objectives. It seems unlikely that both armies benefit from the more concentrated contest. Aside from the mounted Spirit Host and the Vampire the Eldar list does not look particularly mobile.

I don’t know enough about the Tyranids to comment but only a few 15 cm AA units seems very light anti-air cover against a force that is potentially air mobile. The Wraithguard MW firepower seems a perfect fit for damaging the many reinforce armour units in the Tyranid list.

The key feature of the game seems to have been the Eldar’s ability to set up a large multiple/mingled engagement in the first turn followed by a series of rolling assaults using a triple retain at the start of the second turn. This is the hallmark of Eldar tactics and the tight deployment was certainly a factor in enabling this to occur.

Some general points

The mounted Spirit Host costs quite a bit. The 750 point spent on the Wave Serpent mounted Spirit Host is equivalent to a large titan in most armies. Lots of tactical advice suggests that such beasts can be reasonably ignored. The mobility of the Wave Serpents means that this is probably not possible which certainly makes them a tough problem.

Unlike a typical titan however the infantry are vulnerable to AP fire and a little more susceptible to a barrage attack. The Spirit Host really only has a 15 cm effective range for direct fire unlike a typical titan. The big Eldar titans have almost the same number of attacks in an assault all of them a little more likely to hit at 3+.

Unlike a titan half the formation are NOT fearless and that half is what gives the unit its frightening mobility. They have to withdraw further to survive if the formation is broken.

The rest of the army also includes some pretty costly units (for Eldar) and this almost always leaves and Iyanden force low on activations.

Some tactical options for seeing off the Iyanden

Having fought with the Iyanden several times the following tactical responses of my opponents have given me pause.

Some long range AT units set up on over-watch really put a crimp on the mobility. It is significantly easier to stop the wave serpents on the way to an engagement range. Vultures garrisoned off the blitz on over-watch were nasty.

Losing a Wave Serpent or two puts a severe crimp on the mobility of the mounted Spirit Host. I have typically responded by leaving a unit or two behind and 'lived' with the extra blast markers.

Deploying just over 45 cm back from the wraithgate ensures that the slower Spirit Hosts (Wraithguard and Wraithlords with a 15 cm move) cannot assault or double into position to prep an assault.

At the risk of losing an edge in our local games here are some other tactical responses that have occurred to me over the last year or so.

If the Spirit Host concentrates to deal with a tough opposing formation then they are particularly vulnerable to a barrage attack. If they spread out then pinning them with one formation and launching a clipping attack is a lot easier than trying to crack a typical titan (similar points cost as noted above).

Screening them out with small low cost formations, especially with scouts of some type, would help reduce the Spirit Hosts mobility.

Targeting the Spirit Seer or Wraith Seer with sniper units would also help reduce the initiative of the formation, as well as its other benefits.

Stripping off the weaker supporting formations would help cut back on Iyanden activations. It is already hard to get the activation count up with the high points costs. Keeping some formations back in reserve would also help provide a response once the characteristic Eldar triple retain has run its course.


Some fluff comments

Aside from Epic the only other GW game I have ever purchased was the Doom of the Eldar board game. Loved it and that was a strong factor in me selecting an Iylanden style force. The typical game saw vast Eldar casualties with the Wraithguard providing the core for a final line of defense. Seeing a Tyranid swarm wrecked on the wraithbone shoals of a Wraithlord backed wall of Wraithguard seems . . . plausible.


Some comments on the suggested changes

Reducing to 4 Wraithguard for the basic formation would make them almost uniquely fragile as a core formation. It would be entirely plausible to just shoot at them four times to break a formation.

Making the mounted option a “remove two wraithguard and add 4 wave serpents” would be an intermediate option; perhaps for 450 points. However this would make it easier to take multiple mounted formations which might actually make the situation worse. Multiple strikes or combined together on a triple retain under a commander, . . .

At the moment the 6 strong wraithguard formation means each unit is effectively taking up 1.5 slots when carried in a Vampire. This goes at least some way towards taking up more space that an average unit.

My main army is Biel-Tan Eldar and one of my two premium assault formations is eight Warp Spiders with two Exarchs in a Vampire. It is IMO an amazing attack formation.

Comparing that formation with 6 Wraithguards and a Spirit Seer in a Vampire for the same cost make it looks pretty poor though. My Warp Spider formation gets 10 4+ FF attacks with first strike. Compare that to the Spirit host that gets 8 regular 4+ FF attacks and 6 MW 4+ FF attacks. And add to that much better survivability, fearless and Farsight. That is a pretty ridiculous formation for that cost. The biggest drawback of Wraithguards is their slow movement. If you make their movement a non-factor they become very powerful.

I'd probably agree that wraithguard are a bit overpowered for their cost, but it's not quite as bad as that. Note that the Wraithguard don't have access to Inspiring Exarchs; also, it's "only" 7xFF4+ and 6xFF4+MW, there's only one character. They're definitely better than Aspects, though. I'd price the current 6-strong formation at 400, maybe even 450 points. However, at that price, with transports, it becomes very hard to field two formations at 3K points, which makes constructing the rest of the list a bit cramped.



For my part, I wanted the objectives close; I felt I was less mobile than the Tyranids, and thus wanted to keep the battle contained. I think my opponent also wanted to concentrate force, though in hindsight he'd probably have been better off scattering the objectives as widely as possible.

AA is a bit better in the 10.1 - The Dom has a 45cm AA5+, the Zoanthropes 30cm AA6+. On the other hand, gargoyles no longer provide AA.

I was actually up 14 to 12 on activations at game start; Of course, many of them were in the webway or air assaulting, but the many cheap activations (War walkers, Rangers, Night spinners) did allow me to wait out his moves before committing.

Thanks for your thoughts on counterstrategies; I'll be sure to pass them on to the local group!

Several very important points are missed off the earlier comparison:
(1) The Warp Spiders have jet packs which mean that they can deploy up to 15 cm from the Vampire.
(2) They have infiltrate so can ignore ZoCs in positioning.
(3) The Warp Spiders have First Strike so can effectively clip a formation (combined with (1) and (2) above).
(4) The Exarchs have inspiring putting the formation up +2 on resolution.
(5) The Warp Spiders are more numerous so will suffer less on outnumbering penalties.
AND in subsequent turns
(6) The Warp Spiders mobility means that they will have an assault threat range of 45 cm (cf to 30 cm)
(7) The Spirit Host drops its initiative if the unit with the Spirit Seer is lost (barrage or sniper or casualty).
(8) The Spirit Host is smaller so easier to break with BMs
(9) Spirit Host can shoot with the wraith cannon at 15 cm without engaging in an assault.
(10) Spirit Host has Farsight, provided the Spirit Seer is still around.

The slight correcting in numbers of attacks was noted by SpeakerToMachines, as was Inspiring.

I have struggled to put all these intangibles together into a simple simulation/post. Here was the simplest idea I could come up with. Lets see both attack, by Vampire Air Assault, a 13 strong, Arm 5+ (due to armour or cover), FF 5+ infantry formation, with no BMs. Like an Imperial Guard Infantry Company. Numbers assume average values for dice. This also means assume equal throws for resolution.

Vampire, 8 x Warp Spiders + 2 Exarchs: 2 x FF 4+, 10 x FS FF 4+,
positioned after counter-charges, so that only 9 of the target formation are within range.
Eldar cause 3.33 kills on FS and 0.67 after. Enemy cause, (9 - 3.33)x(2/6)x(3/6) = 0.95 kills.
Resolution:
Eldar (9 remaining, DC2 + 7 WS), inspiring +2, kills +4; Enemy (9 remaining), kills +1
Which kills another 5 enemy stands. Total of 4 remaining enemy units.

Vampire, 6 x Wraithguard + Spirit Seer: 2 x FF 4+, 7 FF 4+, 6 MW FF 4+
after counter-charges all are within range, with Wraithguard in front.
Eldar cause 6 kills (3 regular and 3 MW). Enemy cause 1.08 kills (on RA 4+).
Resolution:
Eldar (7 remaining DC2 + 5 WG), kills +6; Enemy (7 remaining), kills +1
Which kills another 5 enemy stands. Leaving the enemy with 2 units remaining.

These two assaults come out with essentially the same results. The Spirit Host looks more brutal on the first contact but actually the Warp Spiders do rather well on kills during resolution. The Spirit Host has 1 BM (4 away from breaking) compared with the Warp Spiders 1 BM (6 away from being broken).

If you move towards a larger target formation then the Warp Spider ability to clip is relatively more important.
Harder cover or stronger armour tends to help the Spirit Host.