Wraithguard?

[F.K.M]

So i've always wanted to use wraithguard when i eventually get an eldar army but at least 3-4 people in the store recommended against using them. Supposedly because it's one of those units that people see and then fire at until it's all dead. I wouldn't have them face guard for obvious reasons but i think against MEQ and monstrous creatures they'd be pretty good.

I figure i could put them in a wave serpeant and have a warlock with them though. Problem is if those guys in the store are right which i'm sure they are then rockets, lascannons, and even plasma cannons will be hitting the wraithguard and that's not gonna be good. On a good note even if they focus fire on all the wraithguard there's still gonna be all these aspect warriors they didn't focus on that they'll have to face later. Strangely enough i'm not too afraid of boltgun shots against toughness 6 and +3 armor saves esp. if a farseer can re-roll successful armor saves for them with fortune or something.

So what do you guys think? Wraithguard can be useful or are they just an expensive unit to waste and throw down the drain? I like the look and idea of wraithguard but this is coming from the guy that thought shining spears seemed kind of cool for a moment. I think people are more fond of fire dragons en masse but i only want a squad of those and maybe bright lances or wraithlords. I also hear wraithlords are good but if you try to kill tanks with them they could just run away. Still 2 wraithlords and a wraithguard unit with plenty of wave serpeants carrying aspect warriors is gonna give a lot of targets for anti-tank.

[Leopard]

Not planning on using them myself, but more because I don't like the models.

Very much in favour of fielding bullet magnets though, just make sure you have something to take advantage of it, and seriously play up the mathshammer of them hitting hard to maximise the effect.

The armour save is nice, but the high toughness is what keeps them about, and forces enemy heavier weapons against them, yes bolt guns can take them down but its a sign of desperation

[jaybob]

I've had mixed luck with wraithguard. They're expensive and slow- but if you can get them in range then they can absolutely wreak havoc. I never really considered putting them in a wave serpent mostly because the limited capacity and the points cost. I think its a lot better to just plop them down in the open to draw fire and just trundle right down the middle while your aspect warriors hit the enemy in vulnerable areas.

Wraithlord are amazing. They can take a TON of fire and since they're monstrous creatures it means a single rail shot can't take them out of the picture for good (like it could for a prism for example). Plus the kit is really awesome- you can get some really creative poses out of your wraithlord!

My dream is to one day make a fluffy Iyanden army but I don't think it's going to happen until they release some plastic wraithguard kits so we can actually pose them a little.

[F.K.M]

I figure 2 wraithlords would just be funny to throw at the enemy with the rest of my vehicles. They're going to have to focus on something and if it's the wraithlords the aspect warriors would torch them. If not the wraithlords will be stomping through their lines.

I still want to do wraithguard just partly because i don't see many eldar players and i've only seen maybe one player using them. I figure it'll kill MC's really well.

[Trooper One-Nine-Seven-Four]

Hmmm... I dimly recall reading that Wraithguard can't ride in transports. It's been ages since I've touched my Eldar, and even longer since I've looked at my Eldar codex, but you might want to check before trying it.

[F.K.M]

They can ride a transport but you can only transport 5 wraithguard and a warlock at once. You can have up to a 10 man wraithguard squad. I'm not sure which way i want to take it. I want numbers but if i walk them up slowly they're just going to get shot to hell. At least if i fight marines and have 10 toughness 6 armor +3 guys going around and 2 wraithlords that's gonna be a lot of targets for marines and other players. My problem is if i have to face orks, possibly dark eldar, or guard where suddenly wraithguard are nearly useless. Plus they're like 35 points each. I should probably just take 5 of them with a seer and a transport. Unfortunately that wouldn't give me the kills i need. Argh i'm stuck on this! I suppose i'll use 10.

At least wraithguard seem good at MEQ killing and are particularly good at MC killing. Dear god help the poor fool that loses a powerful 6 wound MC due to a wraithguard shot that causes instant death (roll a 6 to wound).

[StillANoob]

My friend uses them against my Guard army and if you use them well they work wonders. If you use them bad or the dice hate you, they fall on their ass, usually with a las round to the face. If you know how to use them and are performing (dice wise) at a balanced level, they can make their points back. Use them bad or be out of favour with the dice Gods and they will die very quickly.

They are a bit of a fire magnet, especially against a heavily tank driven force. But keep them covered, behind units, in transports etc. and they can usually make it. Again just make sure you practice with them and find out how they work for you.

[donte]

friend of mine uses them all the time. He makes good use of the Warlock ability that gives a 5+ cover in open, and often takes out my other friends land raider. though the raider is usually full of Termies with Thunder and Storm, they don't last long after that.

[sothas]

The Good - I'd recomend 10 and footslog their way up to an objective. Warlock with conceal = win. Farseer with fortune = better win. That squad will draw stupid amounts of fire and be very hard to kill, even with high str low ap weapons. At the very least your tanks will get to where they need to go because the anti tank weapons will be flying at your wraithguard. I have seen, under the new dex, this list win tournies.

2 farseers w/ fortune and others
30 Wraithguard with conceal
3 Wraithlords with various weapon loadouts.

It was nuts. He lost very few models and just stomped all over everything.

The Bad - Slow, short range, expensive, and bullet magnets. I've had mixed results with these guys, but I still love the terror they bring.

The Ugly - When played poorly or when the dice gods hate you, these guys are a terrible points sink. You can get a lot of other amazing units for the same cost, like 2 squads of dark reapers or lots of dire avenger goodness, tons and tons of guardians, firedragons in a falcon, 2 tanks. The list goes on. Most of the time there are better places to put your points for a "safer" list, but they can be a very fun and frightening addition to an army.

On a side note, Shining Spears roflstomp MEQ, especially command squads, combat squads, and termies. They're fantastic at taking out those pesky techmarines in the back, or the mega nobs, or anything else that commonly sits in the back laying death upon your front lines. They also are pretty decent armor hunters with the correctly built exarch. Don't let anyone talk you into the idea that they are bad. The codex only has one truely bad choice and that's Swooping Hawks... flying guardsmen... worthless.