ISSUE 64
18 April 2015

Editor: Jes Bickham
jes@whitedwarf.co.uk

Publisher: Paul Lyons
paul@whitedwarf.co.uk

After three weeks of Omnissiah-worshipping warfare from the Skitarii, it’s time for the aliens to strike back – and so the ancient Eldar rise once again with a brand-new Codex (the fankly massive Codex: Craftworlds) and some fabulous new miniatures. As you’ll have seen on the cover, new Windrider jetbikes, plus battlefield command in the form of a plastic Autarch and Farseer and Warlock Skyrunners, arrive to bolster the children of Asuryan as they strive to survive in a galaxy full of horrors.

The Eldar now get their own unique way of structuring their armies, in the manner of the Necron Decurion and Khorne Daemonkin Blood Host, and you can read all about it in our Craftworld Warhosts feature later in the issue. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got some Wraithknights we want to get painted… enjoy the issue!

The Windriders are the vanguard of the craftworld warhosts, swift hunters who use jetbikes to run their prey to ground before cutting them to ribbons with a hurricane of shuriken discs or fire from their scatter lasers.

The Windriders embody the craftworld ethos of striking the foe hard and without warning before melting away. Each Windrider speeds into battle upon a sleek jetbike, an agile craft that answers the pilot’s movements so nimbly that a lesser creature than an Eldar would surely crash and die should they try to pilot one.

The Windriders come as a multi-part plastic kit that makes three models. Fans of the Eldar will recognise this instantly as a revitalisation of the classic Eldar jetbike which has served Eldar collectors for 20 years. These new models are true to their provenance, with distinctive curved cowlings that leave lots of space for painting and embellishment and hooked wings that jut out behind the rider. Each of the Windriders can be equipped with a choice of three weapons: twin-linked shuriken catapults, shuriken cannon or a scatter laser and there are enough in the set to do one of each or three all the same, whatever you prefer.

Above: A squadron of Windriders from Craftworld Saim-Hann sweep in behind the Orks’ Mek Guns, their shuriken fire clearing the way for their kin to advance unharmed.

Above: The kit also includes a shuriken cannon for each jetbike, if you prefer some extra anti-infantry capability. Note also the raised head-up display on this canopy. These can be modelled up or down to represent your Windrider Guardian harnessing the targeting data within, or simply swooping across the battlefield.

Above: Over the Windrider Guardian’s shoulder you can see the jetbike’s detailed control panel.

The Farseers are the lords of the craftworlds, mighty psykers whose wisdom guides their kin through the perils of the galaxy. When they ride into battle on jetbikes they are known as Farseer Skyrunners, and bring swift death at the tip of their singing spears.

It is rare indeed that a craftworld warhost goes to war without at least one Farseer within its ranks, for these mighty Eldar lead their race in both times of peace and war. A Farseer is never more dangerous than when he takes up the mantle of Skyrunner and rides into war upon a jetbike, the incredible swiftness of his steed enabling him to dart across the battlefield and into range to unleash the full strength of his psychic powers. Enemy units are devastated by Eldritch Storms and heroes have their skulls ravaged by the psychic trauma of a Mind War before the Farseer ghosts effortlessly out of harm’s reach, only to dart back in when the chance presents itself.

The new Farseer Skyrunner kit lets you build an Eldar Farseer to accompany your Windrider hosts into battle on his own jetbike. A multi-part plastic kit, the Farseer Skyrunner includes a choice of two weapons for your Farseer to carry into battle, either a singing spear or a witchblade. Both of these ornate weapons have crystalline blades and spirit stone-encrusted quillons. The jetbike mirrors the design of those ridden by the new Windriders released this week, with intricate seer runes emblazoned upon the canopy, marking him out among his peers. The head-up display cover also bears the distinctive Farseer rune, making it clear just who rides the jetbike into battle.

Above: A Farseer Skyrunner leads a Windrider squadron in an attack on an Imperial world.

Left: The canopy of the Farseer Skyrunner’s jetbike bears two runes. The upper shows the traditional Farseer rune, worn by Farseers from each of the craftworlds. The lower rune is a stylistic rendering of the seer rune, which marks the Skyrunner apart from the Windrider hosts.

Right top: The Farseer wears the long robes of the Eldar seers. A spirit stone and a pouch filled with eldritch ephemera hang about his waist.

Right left: From this angle you can see the runic details worn by the Farseer Skyrunner, from the gold runes on his chest to those surrounding the spirit stone on his ghost helm – worn by the Farseer to conceal his presence in the Warp.

The Farseer Skyrunner boxed set enables you to make either a Farseer or Warlock mounted on an Eldar jetbike. Turn over the page to see the Warlock Skyrunner.

For tips and advice on painting a jetbike in the colours of Saim-Hann, including advice on getting the chevrons on the cowling just right, see Paint Splatter.

Warlock Skyrunners are battle psykers who relish the chance to plunge into the maelstrom of war.

Contained in the Farseer Skyrunner kit, you’ll also find the parts you need to build the model as a Warlock Skyrunner instead, the perfect unit upgrade for your new squad of Windriders as a Windrider Warlock or as part of a Warlock Conclave (which can include anything from one to 10 Warlock Skyrunners!).

The Warlock is distinguished from the Farseer by his distinctive Warlock helm, and by the Warlock rune that sits atop the jetbike’s head-up display. Just as with the Farseer, you can choose whether to equip your Warlock Skyrunner with witchblade or singing spear.

Left: The kit includes a helmeted head to make a Warlock. The helm itself is larger than those worn by Guardians and most other Eldar warriors, since it contains a wealth of psychic-enhancement technology to protect the Warlock as he harnesses the power of the Warp.

Right: The kit also contains a witchblade – a sword that uses special crystals to channel psychic energy. The result of the power stored within this blade is that it becomes a weapon of incredible potency, able to shear through the thickest armour plates and obliterate flesh and bone.

Eldar upon the Path of Command, Autarchs combine battle prowess with razor-keen tactical skills.

The Autarchs are Eldar who have devoted themselves to mastering the battlefield as strategists and tacticians, treading the Path of Command so that they might serve their craftworld as generals. As such they have experienced many of the Aspect Shrines, and carry ritual gifts as a token of their time spent with each of these Aspects of Khaine. The new plastic Autarch miniature perfectly embodies this long lifetime spent on the Eldar Path; each of his items of wargear can be linked to one of the shrines, most notably his unfurled Swooping Hawk Wings, which enable him to lead the armies of his craftworld from the forefront of the battle.

Above: The power sword that the Autarch holds is a longer version of the weapon used by Dire Avenger Exarchs. Note also the compact forceshield mounted on his forearm.

Left: The fusion pistol is a rare weapon within the armies of the craftworlds, and hints at the Autarch’s history with either the Fire Dragon Aspect Warriors or time spent fighting on the front lines with the craftworld’s Storm Guardians.

Right: The Autarch wears a regal war helm with a mane of feathers and a pair of mandiblasters, the signature weapon of the Striking Scorpion Aspect.

The Eldar of the craftworlds are an enigmatic star-faring race, the last survivors of a once-great empire cast into ruin. Now they cling to their existence, surviving endless wars through skill at arms and ancient technologies, blazing bright like embers in the void.

A race as old as the stars themselves, the Eldar have long inhabited the galaxy, first as a vast empire whose slightest whim was law, and later, after the cataclysmic Fall that ravaged their race, as wanderers, clinging to the remnants of their former civilisation. Aboard colossal spacecraft known as craftworlds, they ply the stars, fighting for survival in a galaxy riven by hostile aliens and stalked by Chaos.

The history of the Eldar is integral to the 41st Millennium and in Codex: Craftworlds you find it laid out, as their place in the galaxy is explained. Within the 160 pages of this hardback Codex, you learn about the tragedy that befell their race and their battle for survival. The organisation of their mighty warhosts is explained, giving an unprecedented look at how the craftworlds muster for war. The background section also details 11 different craftworlds, from the once-great Iyanden, laid low by the Great Devourer, to Ulthwé the Damned and baleful Iybraesil.

Alongside an enthralling tapestry of history sit detailed unit entries for each of the models available in the craftworld Eldar army and their place in the Eldar warhosts, and rules for using them on the tabletop. There are also new rules for two unique psychic disciplines (the Runes of Battle and Fate), new Warlord Traits, a powerful new detachment known as the Warhost, the Treasures of Vaul and Tactical Objectives to use in your games. At a weighty 160 pages, this is the largest, most comprehensive Codex the craftworlds have ever had, and every page sings with gorgeous artwork and imagery.

Above: The cover: a Warlock of Craftworld Saim-Hann, witchblade crackling with psychic energy.

Above: The Codex contains an extensive background section introducing the craftworld Eldar through gripping fiction and gorgeous full-colour art.

Above: The book also contains stunning galleries of models drawn from the Studio collection, sure to get you longing to put brush to model.

Codex: Craftworlds is also available as a digital edition for iPad and eBook. For more information see:
blacklibrary.com/games-workshop-digital-editions

The craftworld Eldar are masters of artifice and makers of works of incredible beauty, and a special edition Codex devoted to them would have to be something very special. It’s just as well the Farseer Edition of Codex: Craftworlds is just that, then…

Designed with the most devoted Eldar fans in mind, the Farseer Edition of Codex: Craftworlds is a glorious specimen, contained within a sleek, magnetically-sealed blue-white box. Open the outer cover and you reveal beautiful interior art and your limited edition number (there are only 800 copies, and each is exclusively numbered). The Codex within the box contains the same stylistic treatment, with gold-effect edging on the pages. Inside the book you’ll find all the same great content as the standard edition, only bound with the exclusive Farseer Edition finish. Behind the Codex sits a second volume, labelled Treasures of Asuryan. This folio contains a tuck box loaded with 14 Psychic cards for the Runes of Fate and Runes of Battle, along with six numbered objective markers that look like they are carved from wraithbone. Each one is emblazoned with the rune of Khaine, signifying the Eldar’s rising war spirit. They are also wonderfully tactile, and holding them while you make tactical decisions makes you feel like a Farseer.

The Farseer Edition of Codex: Craftworlds is strictly limited to only 800 copies, and is sure to sell out quickly. Make sure you pre-order your copy to avoid disappointment. It’s available online only from:
www.games-workshop.com

50 cards (14 Psychic Powers & 36 Tactical Objectives)

Harness the Runes of Fate and Battle as you crush the enemies of the craftworlds.

The Eldar are renowned as one of the most psychically-attuned races in the Dark Millennium, their Warlocks, Spiritseers and Farseers able to bend the Warp to their will in the midst of battle.

Datacards: Craftworlds contains 50 cards, including 14 for the two unique Eldar psychic disciplines: the Runes of Battle and the Runes of Fate (seven of each). These enable your psykers to read the skeins of destiny to protect your warriors, curse the foe, or simply destroy them with an azure tide of coruscating witchfire. The other 36 cards in the set are the Eldar Tactical Objectives cards, which can be used for Maelstrom of War missions. These include six all-new objectives just for the craftworld Eldar, such as the Legacy of Sorrow, which rewards you for killing enemy heroes.

By Guy Haley | Paperback | 416 pages

Craftworld Iyanden and Commorragh join forces to defend a doomed maiden world.

This week Valedor comes to paperback, an epic tale recounting the efforts of Craftworld Iyanden, and their allies from the Dark City to drive off the Tyranid invasion of Dûriel, a world in the Valedor system. In Valedor, Guy Haley has wrought a fast-paced story that excels in its depiction of the relationship between the Eldar kin. Famous characters such as Prince Yriel and Iyanna Arienal are brought to life with a flourish – if you like the Eldar, you need to read this.

By Gav Thorpe | Hardback | 128 pages

The Raven Guard battle the Dark Mechanicum on the world of Constanix II.

Continuing the work he started with Raven’s Flight, and Ravenlord, Gav Thorpe returns to the XIX Legion with this action-packed novella. The Raven Guard, slowly rebuilding after the Dropsite Massacre, follow a lead to the forge world of Constanix II, where they find the Word Bearers have spread their dark secrets to the Mechanicum. Realising the scale of their depravity, Corax vows to rid Constanix II of the twisted machines the Word Bearers have helped create.

Forge World make highly-detailed resin models, large-scale kits and books for Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and the Horus Heresy. This week we take a look at the new Auxilia Stormhammer Super-heavy Assault Tank and the Scyllax Guardian-automata.

SCYLLAX GARDIAN-AUTOMATA

Technological masterpieces, the Scyllax Guardian-Automata are compact, but incredibly potent, machine creatures found in the ranks of the highest ranking magos, who they either protect as bodyguards or serve as shock troops. Their armoured bodies are as well protected as Space Marines, while their flailing mechadendrite combat array can slash and maim hordes of enemies, or deliver a single decapitating strike. Worst of all for those fighting the Scyllax, is the rad furnace at the machine-creature’s heart. Any nearby are wracked by its deadly output, left weakened and vulnerable.

The Scyllax Guardian-automata come as a kit of four models, hunched creatures equipped with powerful Scyllax bolters and mechadendrite arrays. The mechadendrites in particular are a great touch, since they can be easily heated with hot water to unique shapes, creating a writhing mass of deadly limbs.

Left: The only human element left in the Scyllax is the skull and a few scraps of neural tissue. Many within the Mechanicum despise them, claiming blasphemous origins.

Right: On the back of the Scyllax you can see the rad furnace, a reactor core that generates harmful quantities of radiation which they can vent at will.

STORMHAMMER

The favoured Super-heavy tank of the Solar Auxilia cohorts, the Stormhammer is beloved of the men who fight beside it for its stunning array of heavy weapons, and the rugged design that has seen it fight in countless hostile environments. Armed with a Stormhammer cannon, hull-mounted dual battlecannons and myriad lesser guns, it unleashes a curtain of heavy weapons fire as it rumbles along beside the advancing lasrifle sections.

This new plastic and resin kit from Forge World brings one of the heaviest weapons in the arsenal of the Solar Auxilia to the battlefields of the Horus Heresy. The tank is a sturdy brute, with slab-sided armour and environmentally-sealed hatches, all wrought in the distinctive style of the Solar Auxilia. As well as the main gun, the Stormhammer cannon, co-axial multi-laser and hull-mounted battlecannons and lascannon, the kit also has a choice of four guns for the side sponsons.

Left: As with all Solar Auxilia vehicles, the Stormhammer has a formidable suite of air filters and toxin scrubbers to protect the crew from the horrendous environments it must fight through. The Stormhammer is even capable of operating for extended periods in hard vacuum theatres.

Right: Along each side of the Stormhammer are three sponson-mounted multi-lasers. The kit also includes six heavy bolters, six heavy flamers and six lascannons, enabling you to choose your preferred loadout when you build your own.

These kits and the rest of the Forge World range are available directly from Forge World. To find out more visit:
www.forgeworld.co.uk

The ancient Eldar race made war among the stars long before Humankind had crawled from Terra’s primordial soup. Aeons later, the Eldar of the Craftworlds still fight for survival in warhosts of expertly-trained warriors and technologically-advanced war machines.

THE CRAFTWORLDS

The craftworlds are gargantuan space ships that have existed since before the Fall. They carried the survivors of those calamitous events to safety; though many have fallen in the millennia since, those that remain can be numbered among the galaxy’s most formidable forces. Millions of Eldar trained for battle mean that when a Craftworld is roused to war, entire systems are crushed.

Lost in the vastness of space, the craftworlds float in utter isolation like scattered jewels upon a pall of velvet. They are the survivors of a civilisation cast into ruin, the children of the stars brought low by pride, pushed to the brink of extinction by endless warfare and the curse they brought upon themselves. They are the Eldar of the craftworlds, and every passing day is a battle for survival. To stave off the fate which seems so inevitable, the Eldar go to battle in warhosts, assemblies of warriors that draw upon the unique skills and talents of the craftworld kin, harnessing their preternatural abilities to wrest victory from even the direst of circumstances. For though the Eldar of the craftworlds are endangered, they have lost none of the skill or battle mastery that saw them once rule as undisputed masters of the stars.

Even so, the numbers of the craftworld Eldar dwindle year on year, even as their enemies circle them like bloodsharks around a wounded psyclodon. To this end, every element of Eldar society must be ready for war – there are no bystanders in the battle for survival. Every Eldar is trained to fight, honing their talents with blade and shuriken catapult to such a level that only the most skilled of human warriors could hope to rival them.

These craftworld armies are known as the warhosts, flexible forces that have stood the test of time, from the age of the War in Heaven until the present day. The heart of the warhost is the Eldar Guardian, the citizen soldier who stands ready to fight for his craftworld. These fight in one of three kinds of Guardian hosts: the Guardian Battlehost, the Windrider Host or the Guardian Stormhost. Each of these is led by an Eldar Farseer, a powerful psyker who uses his prescience to manipulate the flow of battle and win victory for his comrades. Around these are formed squads of Defender, Windrider or Storm Guardians, depending on the manner of host assembled.

To this dependable core other elements of the Eldar army are added. Engines of Vaul are brought forth from the armouries, war machines such as Fire Prisms, Falcons and War Walkers bring incredible firepower to support the warriors fighting right at the front. Aspect Warriors, too, will join the fray, lethal fighters who have followed the Path of the Warrior and now number among the galaxy’s most deadly combatants. In days gone by, when the Eldar were more numerous, the Aspect Warrriors would have made up the majority of the Eldar army, but the cruel attrition that has brought the Eldar to the brink of extinction means that there are now fewer Aspect Warrior than ever before. Those that remain form a crucial warrior elite, taking on the deadliest missions and the most formidable of foes.

In their desperation, some craftworlds have also turned to their ancestors for assistance, summoning the spirits of the dead to join the fight, none more famously than the beleaguered Iyanden. Denied the rest of the dead, they now fight beside the living, joining the warhosts in death as they did in life. Led by Spiritseers, they form phalanxes known as the Wraith Hosts, an essential part of the Eldar’s ongoing battle against extinction.

ASPECT WARRIORS

The Eldar are capable of such intensity of emotion they must constantly guard against it, lest they surrender to the obsessions that brought about the Fall. To this end, the Eldar embrace a system known as the Eldar Path – a means of devoting oneself utterly, and safely, to a single aspect of life.

Eldar who embrace the Path of the Warrior become Aspect Warriors, devoted to mastering warfare in one of the many aspects of Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God. An Eldar might become a Striking Scorpion or Howling Banshee, fixating on the ritual methods of combat its shrine teaches. The Aspect Shrines will answer the call to join a warhost, but they remain aloof, keeping their own traditions of heraldry and unit markings.

Each Eldar Craftworld has a unique identity that has been defined throughout the millennia since the Fall. Some have been shaped by calamitous events, such as the once-great Iyanden, which was all but eradicated by the Tyranids and must now call upon its honoured dead to protect it. Others, such as Biel-Tan, have allowed the mindset and attitude of their people to shape them. The Eldar of Biel-Tan have become the most warlike and aggressive of all the Craftworld kin, determined to recapture their lost glory through conquest. Others, such as Ulthwé, have been defined in different ways. Ulthwé have more witches than most, a preponderance of Farseers and Warlocks some attribute to their proximity to the Eye of Terror, others to their obsession with scrying the future.

Left: Craftworld Iyanden’s colours are yellow and blue, worn not only by the Guardians but also the ghost warriors, such as this Wraithguard.

Right: Ulthwé is famed for its Farseers, whose precognitions have guided their craftworld through dire peril for thousands of years.

Within each warhost there are scores of warriors, all organised into battlehosts, auxiliary units and squads. To the untrained eye, the kaleidoscopic colours of the Eldar and their penchant for swirling patterns and ornate markings, along with their esoteric wargear, might make it hard to distinguish one group of warriors from another. For the Craftworld Eldar, however, the system is simple: each craftworld has many warhosts to call upon, and these are denoted by the colour of the face plates its warriors wear. The Harbingers of Wrath were a Saim-Hann warhost that fought the Orks at Gametha, and wore black face masks throughout the campaign. Within each warhost, Guardian Hosts are identified by coloured bands adorning the vanes on their power packs, with the number of bands indicating the squad within the battlehost. Thus a Saim-Hann Guardian with a black face mask and one black stripe on his shoulder vanes would be from the first squad of the Bane Stars, a Guardian Host within the Harbingers of Wrath Warhost.

SAIM-HANN

Craftworld Saim-Hann is renowned for the ferocity of its warhosts, which famously boast more Windrider Hosts than almost any other craftworld. Calling themselves the Wild Riders, the Saim-Hann are quick to anger and eager for battle. Other Eldar view them as uncultured or feral, but the truth is they have a fiercely loyal clan system which provides many battlehosts – and indeed on rare occasions even whole warhosts – drawn from familial groups, led by a clan chieftain or elder in the role of Farseer or Autarch.

Above: A glance at this Defender Guardian shows his warhost (colour of his face mask), battlehost (colour of the bands on his pack vanes) and squad (number of bands).

Left: The bands on the vane show this Guardian is from the first squad.

Centre: Each vehicle within a craftworld squadron has a numerical marking, noted with simple geometric shapes. This Fire Prism is the second in its squadron.

Right: All tanks in the unit have the same vane marking.

Codex: Craftworlds contains a guide on how to organise your Eldar collection into a Craftworld Warhost, a Detachment that reflects the way the Eldar typically organise their warriors. These Warhosts represent the traditional Eldar army, and though they take various shapes and sizes, at their heart they are all the same, built around a core of Guardian Hosts, whether that is a Guardian Battlehost, Windrider Host, Guardian Stormhost, or a combination of the three. A smaller Warhost might have one such formation, while a great Warhost could have one of each (or three the same). Appended to the Guardian Hosts are a number of auxiliary units drawn from the armouries of the craftworlds, and these allow you to add further flavour to your army. If you collect a Biel-Tan force, you might want to reflect that Biel-Tan boasts more Aspect Warriors than other craftworlds, and select auxiliary units that include them, such as the Aspect Host. Likewise, Iyanden, with its ranks of ghost warriors, would doubtless draw upon Wraith-Constructs and the Wraith Hosts. How you build your own army is, of course, entirely up to you (and many collectors might wish to create Unbound armies or use other Force Organisation Charts), but the results of using a Warhost on the battlefield speak for themselves – every Eldar within the Craftworld Warhost is bestowed with Matchless Agility, and they are able to move faster and more surely than ever before. When paired with the advantages of the units and formations within the parent Warhost, it makes the Craftworld Eldar very powerful indeed.

Over the page we have created an example Warhost from the Studio collection, a highly-mobile army of Saim-Hann. The core of the army is a Windrider Host, a fast-moving throng of Wild Riders, beside whom now fight the Dire Avengers of the Shrine of the Sun Blade, a squadron of Fire Prisms and a further Engine of Vaul in the Nightspinner, and a towering Wraithknight, Saimesh Roh. The army has even been joined by a Regent of the Warhost, an Avatar of Khaine.

Double tap image for a full screen preview.

Double tap image for a full screen preview.

(1-12 per Guardian Host)

Double tap image for a full screen preview.

The Citadel Hall of Fame is a celebration of the finest miniatures in the world, a collection of iconic models recognised for their ground-breaking designs. This issue, we take to the skies to get a closer look at the Dark Elf Dreadlord on Black Dragon.

Dragons have been flying around the Warhammer world for many years, the first Dragon models released more than 30 years ago. There was a Black Dragon amongst that first brood and it’s been through five incarnations (that we can think of) since, growing from a small lead figure into Bracchus, the Dragon ridden by the Beastlord Rakarth, and finally into the plastic kit that graces our painting tables and battlefields today.

Unlike the muscle-bound Dragons of the Chaos Wastes, the Black Dragon is thin and serpent-like, lithe and whip-cord strong like the Dreadlord riding it into battle. Its design is similar to (indeed, influenced by) the High Elf Dragon that came out a few years before it, while its head shares similarities with the old metal Dark Elf War Hydra. The Black Dragon also has ragged wings, misaligned quills and teeth, and battle scars and gouges on its neck and face; all indications it’s been horribly mistreated, not revered like its cousins from Ulthuan. Look carefully and you’ll notice the few armour plates it wears (vambraces and the like) have no straps, metal bolts suggesting they’ve been nailed or welded to the Dragon’s flesh.

Aside from being a great model, the Black Dragon also earned its place in the Hall of Fame for its legacy. In a strange cycle of evolution, the plastic War Hydra and the Kharibdyss took design cues from the Black Dragon, including their webbed tails, blade-like scales and rocky bases. The Black Dragon’s rearing pose was also a miniature-making breakthrough, the lightweight plastic enabling the Dragon’s tail to support the whole model, giving it the impression of hovering just above the ground. It’s a technique that’s been used many times since, including on Nagash, his Mortarchs and the Bloodthirsters.

Left: The Dreadlord carries a tower shield – one of two that come in the kit. The skull icon in the centre is a common motif used by warriors from Har Ganeth, the City of Executioners.

Right: In profile you can see how similar the Black Dragon’s head is to that of the High Elf Star Dragon, albeit with horns instead of fins.

Left: Where the spines and sail on the Star Dragon’s back are neatly arranged, the Black Dragon has rows of misaligned quills that burst from beneath its scales. Such mutations are common among the Dragons of Naggaroth.

Right: The Dreadlord’s armour has a similar design to that of the Cold One Knights, the edges spiked and bladed, to be used as weapons should the need arise. The rune on his helm is that of Urithair, meaning conquest and destruction.

With the release of Codex: Craftworlds, the Eldar Wraithknight has been reclassified by the Departmento Munitorum as a Gargantuan Creature. Eager to find out how this will affect our battles, we pitted the towering wraith-construct against a host of deadly foes.

The Wraithknight has always been a tough opponent. Resilient, fast, well-armed and armoured, only the most powerful foes had a chance of besting one in combat or toppling them with excessive firepower. Now given the status of Gargantuan Creature in the new Eldar Codex, fighting a Wraithknight has become an even more terrifying prospect. Keen to see who’d be crushed beneath its feet and who’d topple the mighty ghost warrior, we armed our Wraithknight with a pair of starcannons, a ghostglaive and a scattershield and lined up a host of foes for him to fight. Here’s what happened…

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The rules for our challenges are really simple. We set up two Realm of Battle tiles and a bit of scenery and place our chosen models at opposite ends. First turn goes to the side that wins a roll-off, then the models fight to the death. Occasionally someone tries to avoid combat by running away, but the board’s only so big. Mocking the player for their cowardly tactics is highly encouraged.

FIRST CHALLENGER:
WRATH OF KHORNE BLOODTHIRSTER

Despite taking damage from starcannon shots, the Bloodthirster smashed into the ghost warrior and hacked a chunk out of its chest, half killing the construct with its first blow (Instant Death won’t kill a Gargantuan Creature outright, although the Axe of Khorne still caused three Wounds). Ghostglaive raised high, the Wraithknight struck back, decapitating the Bloodthirster in a single strike (see the ‘D is for Destroyer’ box-out to the right). Surprised by the result, we set a Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage against the Wraithknight instead. Surviving the ghost warrior’s attacks, the Daemon’s Great Axe of Khorne almost obliterated the Wraithknight, which was only saved from destruction by its scattershield. A turn later the Wraithknight dispatched its second servant of Khorne.

SECOND CHALLENGER: IMPERIAL KNIGHT

In this clash of titans, the Imperial Knight wisely stood back to blast holes out of the Wraithknight with its thermal cannon. Worried by the damage it was taking, the ghost warrior ran into combat. Despite the foes hitting each other, neither could best the other with their Destroyer blades, the Knight avoiding the worst of the Wraithknight’s attacks, the Eldar construct deflecting the Knight’s blows with its shield. The Wraithknight finally scored the death blow, tearing the Knight in half.

THIRD CHALLENGERS: DEATHWING KNIGHTS

Veterans of many White Dwarf challenges, the Deathwing Knights stepped up to fight the Wraithknight. The wraith-construct killed two Dark Angels at range and a third in combat before the Deathwing bought their maces of absolution to bear. Engaging smite mode, they battered the Wraithknight to the ground and smashed it to shards of wraithbone.

FOURTH CHALLENGER: TOXICRENE

If you read the Toxicrene challenge in issue 40, you’ll know the Toxicrene did unspeakable things to the Wraithknight with its poisonous lash whips. The fight was very different this time, the Tyranid monstrosity struggling to poison the elegant warrior. The Wraithknight hacked it to bits. We refought the encounter with two Toxicrenes (a grand total of 24 thrashing tentacles). They almost killed the Wraithknight, but died messily in the process, the Eldar construct causing 19 wounds on them over two rounds.

FIFTH CHALLENGER: TRANSCENDENT C’TAN

The C’tan was our wild card. If it threw out Time’s Arrow (a Destroyer Weapon), it could theoretically blast the Wraithknight apart before it got to fight. It didn’t. Not in the first fight, the second fight or even the third. We put the petulant, thrice-dead C’tan back in his Tesseract Vault to sulk.

D IS FOR DESTROYER

Eldar distortion weapons use highly-advanced technology to rip holes in reality, the swirling portal they create dragging their unfortunate targets into the Warp. As a result, distort weapons have the Destroyer rule, enabling them to tear men and tanks apart with horrific ease. The Wraithknight comes with two such weapons – a pair of heavy wraithcannons that enable the towering ghost warrior to engage the enemy at range, pummelling their tanks, monsters and fortifications from afar.

Alternatively, an Eldar Wraithknight can carry a ghostglaive, a vast eldritch blade as long as a tank and imbued with semi-sentient soul crystals. It is also a Destroyer Weapon when wielded by a Wraithknight. Ouch!

The Wraithknight is a true battlefield terror, one to be feared alongside the likes of the Baneblade or an Imperial Knight. If you’re facing one, it goes without saying that you should stay away from it for as long as possible and shoot it with very large guns! The Wraithknight is very fast, though, meaning close combat is almost inevitable.

As we discovered during our challenge, any of the units could have killed the Wraithknight with a couple of well-placed killing blows or a good roll on the Destroyer Weapon chart. Sadly, the few hits that got past its scattershield were never enough to kill it. The Deathwing Knights, on the other hand, scored a total of nine wounding hits in their combat – more than enough to smash the ghost warrior apart. Our advice: hit it hard with every big gun you can. Failing that, hit it with as many power fists (or similarly destructive close combat weapons) as you can bring to bear.

The Windriders are the swiftest of the fighters within the Eldar warhosts, flying their agile jetbikes at incredible speeds to punch holes in the enemy battle lines or reinforce the warhost where it needs aid. Here we present the rules for using them in your games.

WINDRIDER WARLOCK

Each squad of Windriders can be joined by a Windrider Warlock, a battle psyker who draws his powers from either the Sanctic Daemonology discipline or the Runes of Battle. If you do this, consider taking the Primaris power from the Runes of Battle, Conceal. This mind-altering power shrouds the Warlock and his unit from the enemy, making them all but impossible to hit. If you pair it with a bit of jinking, your Windriders will be nigh unstoppable.

On top of that, the Warlock can also fight challenges for the unit with his witchblade – which can easily pierce the flesh of monsters or the armour of tanks.

Windriders are a mainstay of the Eldar warhosts, valued for their speed, durability and firepower. A squad of three Windriders can make a real difference in a closely-matched contest while larger units can completely turn the tide of a battle. Here are our top tips for using these high-speed attackers in your games.

Upgrades at dawn. The new kit includes a choice of three guns for each of the Windriders in the unit – shuriken catapults, shuriken cannons and scatter lasers. These change their role dramatically – jetbikes with shuriken cannons can chop down heavy infantry with deadly ease while scatter lasers kill lightly armoured foes and light vehicles with lethal efficiency. Our advice: upgrade and choose your victims!

Strike and fade. Windriders are so agile that their pilots can change course in the blink of an eye, zipping one way and then another. This lets you get in nice and close with your shuriken catapults and loose off a salvo, then jet away to safety in the Assault phase. If you upgrade your Windriders with shuriken cannons or scatter lasers, their longer range gives you even more options. Move out from behind cover, blitz the enemy with fire, and then ghost back into hiding to leave your foe grasping at shadows.

Sneak and grab. Windriders move with such blurring speed that they can cross the battlefield faster than almost any other unit. Use this to grab objectives from the enemy. Just imagine racing to a critical point to secure a treasured relic or wipe out enemy defenders. Bear in mind most armies leave weaker units, such as Scouts, Biovores or Grots, to guard objectives. A squad of Windriders can butcher all but the most dedicated defenders with a volley of fire and a determined charge.

MESH ARMOUR
Mesh armour confers a 5+ Armour Save.

RUNE ARMOUR
Rune armour confers a 4+ invulnerable save.

ELDAR JETBIKE
A model riding an Eldar jetbike has a 3+ Armour Save and a twin-linked shuriken catapult. Their unit type also changes to Eldar Jetbike (see Warhammer 40,000: The Rules).

SINGING SPEAR
Range - 12”
S - 9
AP -
Type - Assault 1, Fleshbane

Range -
S - User
AP -
Type - Melee, Armourbane, Fleshbane

SHURIKEN WEAPONS
Shuriken catapult
Range - 12”
S - 4
AP - 5
Type - Assault 2, Bladestorm

Shuriken cannon
Range - 24”
S - 6
AP - 5
Type - Assault 3, Bladestorm

Bladestorm: When firing a weapon with this special rule, a to Wound roll of a 6 wounds automatically, regardless of the target’s Toughness, and is resolved at AP2.

SCATTER LASER
Range - 36”
S - 6
AP - 6
Type - Heavy 4

In battle, the jetbike riders of the Eldar operate as forward scouts and fast-response troops, speeding across the battlefield in a brightly-coloured blur before unleashing tight fusillades of shuriken. At the last moment before he hurtles into the enemy line, the Windrider fires, shredding his awed foes with the paired shuriken catapults that allow the jetbike its impressive rate of fire. With a twist of the handlebars, the pilot veers away to safety, turning his steed for another pass. It is considered a singular honour for a Guardian to ride to war within the Windrider hosts, sun glinting from his jetbike cowling and air swirling in his wake.

Double tap image for a full screen preview.

WARGEAR:
Windrider
Mesh armour
Eldar jetbike

Windrider Warlock
Rune armour
Witchblade
Eldar jetbike

SPECIAL RULES:
Ancient Doom
Battle Focus
Psyker (Mastery Level 1)
(Windrider Warlock only)

PSYKER:
A Windrider Warlock generates powers from the Daemonology (Sanctic) and Runes of Battle disciplines.

OPTIONS:
May include up to seven additional Windriders - 17 pts/model
May include a Windrider Warlock - 50 pts
The Windrider Warlock may replace his witchblade with a singing spear - 5 pts

Any Windrider may exchange its Eldar jetbike’s twin-linked shuriken catapult for one of the following:
Scatter laser - 10 pts/model
Shuriken cannon - 10 pts/model

Paint Splatter provides handy tips and stage-by-stage painting guides for the week’s key releases. This week we look at how to paint the new Windriders.

With the Windriders leading the charge for the Eldar craftworlds this week, we decided to look at how to paint them, taking the iconic colours of Saim-Hann as our example. There are three main colours on the Saim-Hann jetbikes: black, white and red, so we recommend spraying the model in parts. For the best results, we suggest spraying the chassis Chaos Black, the rider’s head Skull White, and the rider and canopy Chaos Black followed by Mephiston Red.

When it comes to painting the model, it’s important to note the red on the Guardian pilot’s armour and the jetbike were painted using the same stages. When painting the jetbike, however, the Agrax Earthshade wash should only be focussed into the recesses – don’t splash it all over the canopy and tail fins. The same is true of the blue shade applied around the helmet details. The neater you can be when you are doing this, the better the finished effect will be. A final tip is in painting the eye lenses – just use the last three stages from the Spirit Stone.

PAINTING STRIPES

Saim-Hann Windriders decorate their jetbikes with striking patterns such as diagonal lines or chevrons. Use masking tape to keep your own edges straight.

To do this, get low-tack masking tape (or use normal masking tape, but press it against some fabric to take off some of the tackiness) and mark out your lines (1). Then, paint between the masked areas (2). When you remove the tape, you’ll be left with nice sharp edges (3). Once the paint has dried, you can mark out more patterns in the same way to create a more complex design (4).

Next week: black highlights!

Join us for a round-up of the week as we share comment, opinion and trivia on all the latest releases, plus other fun tidbits that have cropped up in the White Dwarf bunker. This week it’s Eldar, crystalline blades, a Dragon’s head and an incredible cape…

FIGHTING TOGETHER: THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

We’ve already seen the dead fight once this week, in the Wraithknight Challenge, but these aren’t the Eldar’s only deathless avengers. When an Eldar dies, his spirit is by rights forfeit to Slaanesh. To stave off this horrific fate, the Eldar trap their souls in spirit stones when they die, which are then connected to the infinity circuit of their craftworld, enabling the glorious dead to rest forever at the heart of their craftworld, safe from the clutches of Chaos.

With the rising desperation of the Eldar, however, they have been forced to turn to their honoured dead to fight beside them once more. This is possible only through the incredible technology of the Eldar and the psychic power of the Spiritseers, who can place the spirit stones of the dead within the armoured wraithbone bodies of Wraithguard, Wraithblades and Wraithlords to fight once again. For these ghost warriors, the material world is a distant and confusing place, and without a Spiritseer to direct them, they struggle to comprehend reality. With guidance, however, they are a formidable force: Wraithlords in life were Eldar warriors of incredible skill and courage, and on the battlefield in undeath their skills are little diminished, but their bodies are nigh indestructible constructs of wraithbone.

BOUND IN DEATH

WRAITHKNIGHT CREW

Wraithknights are war machines of unspeakable power, capable of obliterating platoons of men with blasts from their guns or cleaving the Daemons of Chaos in two with their ghostglaives. Each Wraithknight is piloted in battle by a pair of Eldar, twins separated by only one thing: one of the two is dead.

Amongst the Eldar, twins share a bond that is all but unimaginable to others. When one feels the warmth of the sun, the other shares the sensation; when one feels joy, the other shares his elation. This closeness means that when a twin dies, the other often simply gives up on life and fades away. Such a tragic state of affairs has one silver lining, however, for the Wraithknight requires both a living and a dead pilot (or, rather, his spirit stone), and thus the twins can continue their bond, should the living twin agree. This pairing makes the Wraithknight agile and nimble beyond belief, its movements as fluid and natural as the twins were in life.

While the Eldar warhosts mark out their warriors by their face plates and the bands on the vanes of their backpacks, the Aspect Warriors pay no heed to such considerations. Instead, each Aspect Shrine will have its own traditions of heraldry and uniform, many of which hark back to the time when the first Aspect Shrines were founded.

The result of this is that two warriors from different Dire Avenger shrines will be subtly different from one another, but both immediately recognisable as Dire Avengers nonetheless. Sometimes this difference is as small as a slight variation in the shape, size and style of the Aspect Warrior rune or the colour of a helmet plume, as with the Dire Avengers of the Sun Blade Shrine seen here. Other times they are dramatically different, as in the case of the black-armoured Howling Banshees of the Ebon Witch.

In Paint Splatter we mentioned the idea of spraying the Windriders in separate parts. The advantage this gives you is that each of the principal colours will be as smooth as possible. Doing this is simple – stick the parts to something temporarily for spraying, and then choose the appropriate colour. We used Skull White for the rider’s helmet, and Chaos Black for the jetbike’s chassis. We also did the rider and the canopy with Chaos Black and then, when it dried, Mephiston Red spray. Even if you paint by hand, this is a nifty trick to speed up your painting, since you can use a bigger brush without fear of making a mess.

Flying goggles raised and atmospheric rebreather in place, this ice-cool Valkyrie pilot is clearly en route to dangerous skies. Popular for converting Imperial Guard tank crews and Inquisitorial henchmen, this head is one for all you eager converters out there.

This Elector Count of Talabheim was painted by Jon Hart. We would tell you more about the model, but we think the extra picture we squeezed in below of the model’s cape speaks for itself…

If you’ve painted a miniature that you think is worthy of a place in White Dwarf then why not send a picture to:
team@whitedwarf.co.uk

If it’s something we can use, we’ll be sure to get in touch.

The White Dwarf is a font of hobby knowledge, a metaphorical repository of useful facts. If you have a question about Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer, need a bit of painting advice or you’re after a few tactical tips, drop us a line:

team@whitedwarf.co.uk

THE LAUGHTER OF THIRSTING GODS

When Eldar die, their souls are captured by spirit stones to prevent them being consumed by Slaanesh. What happens to the souls of other races? Does Slaanesh (or another Chaos God) claim them, or do they go somewhere else?

- Clem ‘Soul Patch’ Bucknall

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

Right, well, first off, I’ll deal with those accursed Elves – they don’t have souls, so that one’s easy! As for everyone else, where the Eldar do everything in their power to avoid coming face to face with Slaanesh, there are other people who’d welcome the opportunity. Those who worship a Chaos God may find their souls claimed by them upon their death, but it would be a welcome encounter (at least to begin with), not like that of the Eldar and Slaanesh. As for all the other souls in the galaxy, well, I’m no priest of the dead, but I’m sure their gods will claim them. That reminds me, I’d better pay my respects to Grungni.

- Grombrindal

As seen earlier in the issue, the latest inductee into the Hall of Fame is the Dark Elf Dreadlord on Black Dragon. However, we only showed you one of the ways the kit can be built.

Did you know, for example, that there are two heads for the Dragon in the kit? There’s the one you saw earlier with its fang-lined maw wide open and the one to the right, its mouth partly closed in a sinister sneer.

There’s also a huge number of options for the Dreadlord, including three swords, two shields, a lance, a repeater handbow, two different torsos and three different heads with optional crests. But that’s not all, because you also get the parts to build a Supreme Sorceress, shown right. The one shown here has her hair down, but there’s another head with her hair tied up in a topknot, an alternative torso, two additional arms and a spell book. Phew!

Notes from the worlds of Warhammer. This week: Aspect Shrines.

DIRE AVENGERS
The most populous of the Warrior Aspects, the Dire Avengers are found on almost every craftworld and most have several shrines. Dire Avengers fight armed with modified shuriken catapults at the centre of the Eldar battle lines, where the wickering sound of their ammunition is an ever present threat to the foe, for the Dire Avengers consider the lethal hurling of monomolecular shuriken discs the finest expression of Khaine’s red arts.

STRIKING SCORPIONS
Masters of stealth, Striking Scorpions will stalk their foe unseen, sometimes for days or months, before launching a short and bloody assault. Their ritual weapons are shuriken pistols and scorpion chainswords, along with the rare and unusual mandiblasters. These are small, short-ranged guns built into the Striking Scorpions’ helmets, which unleash a searing blast of needle shards that channel laser energy into the victim. The Striking Scorpions use this surprising attack to wound or perturb their enemy before delivering the deathblow.

SWOOPING HAWKS
Borne aloft on shimmering wings, the Swooping Hawks are a majestic sight, hunters from on high who rain laser fire and deadly grenades down onto their victims. Such is their agility and grace, even in mid-flight, that they can clamp their special haywire grenades onto passing enemy flyers, trusting the explosive electrical discharge to drop the target from the skies. To the Eldar around them, Swooping Hawks are a symbol of hope and victory, and their arrival raises the spirits of the warhost.

The Space Marine Stalker tank is armed with an icarus stormcannon array, a sextet of autocannons controlled by a pair of hard-wired servitors. Constantly searching the sky for targets, this battery of high-calibre guns can take on multiple aircraft simultaneously or concentrate their formidable firepower on one unlucky flyer. In the event of the latter, the enemy will certainly need more than a roll of sticky tape to patch up all the holes.

You can’t have failed to notice the crystalline blades throughout this issue. These were painted with a basecoat of Baharroth Blue, which was then highlighted by mixing in White Scar, and shaded by mixing in Kantor Blue respectively, in a rough checker pattern. Start by adding in only a little of the colour, but by stages add more until the final highlights and shades are almost pure. Finally, add some White Scar spot highlights to finish off the effect.

Despite the small size of their craftworld, the Eldar of Telennar have been engaged in a running battle with an Ork Waaagh! on the Eastern Fringe. Encouraged to fight the onrushing horde by Harlequins of the Twisted Path, Autarch Korhedron led his warriors to war. Many Eldar died in the battles that ensued, though the Orks were eventually defeated and fled. Within months, the Warrior Shrine of the Dark Reapers on Telennar was overflowing, the craftworld’s people eager to seek revenge for the deaths of their loved ones.

The Eldar of Telennar wear black bodysuits with orange helmets and shoulder guards. The orange was painted using a basecoat of Wild Rider Red, followed by layers of Troll Slayer Orange (the main colour) and highlights of Fire Dragon Bright and Lugganath Orange. The black areas were painted using Skavenblight Dinge as a highlight straight over the Chaos Black undercoat, followed by a fine edge highlight of Dawnstone – the same colour used on the wraithbone weapons.

Left: Autarch Korhedron, the Sun-born Prince. To mark him out as the army commander, Korhedron wears a bright turquoise cape, the spot colour for the army.

Right: The Warlock Conclave wield deadly witchblades. They were painted with Sotek Green and highlighted with Dawnstone along the edges. A layer of ’Ardcoat gloss varnish gives them an ominous sheen.

Above: The Dark Reapers known as the Avenging Requiem. Intent on revenge against the Orks, these Aspect Warriors fight at the forefront of Telennar’s campaigns.

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Editor: Jes Bickham. Publisher: Paul Lyons

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