 |
The Guardians of the Eldar are the backbone of most Eldar armies.
Every Eldar is trained to fight, so that in times of need, every Eldar will be ready to do
their duty. Defender Guardians are armed with shuriken catapults and sometimes they carry frag grenades. As a fighting force, the Defender Guardians don't rely on their small arms unless they are attacked at close range. What makes the Guardian Defender squads so effective is the heavy weapons mounted on anti-grav platforms, that are available to them. Basically the majority of the defender squad acts as a "bodyguard" to support to the heavy weapons crew that accompany then. The tactical role of the defender squad is that of support. TACTICAL SUGGESTIONS:Use large squads of at least 10 or more (not counting the crew of the anti-grav platform) so that break tests don't have to be taken too often. It is a mistake to use small squads in the hope of gaining more heavy weapons, because the heavy weapon will be useless (and therefore a waste of points) if it's squad fails it's leadership test and runs away. Remember that once a squad is under 50% it can't regroup. As the Guardian's amour save is only 5+ it is wise to use available cover and to spread the troops out to avoid receiving too many casualties if the squad come under fire from a barrage or ordinance. Defender Guardians are very vulnerable to assault by hth troops and having a warlock with the squad can enhance their survival and effectiveness in hth as the warlock can be given "Enhance". If your squad is being approached by a foe, pull back and shoot with the heavy weapon. Once a foe has closed in enough for the shuriken catapults to be effective, then it's too late and the squad will be fighting in a way that suits the enemy. If a squad of Defender guardians is attacked in hand to hand, the biggest mistake a Farseer can make is to help them by committing other cheap troops to aid them in hth. The best thing to do, is to comes to terms with the loss of the assaulted troops and move away with the nearest troops so they can shoot at any enemy that are left over from the assault. Often a squad of guardians will last two turns of hand to hand combat and therefore lay down their lives so that the other troops nearby can get away to wreak revenge on the attackers. CHOICE OF WEAPONS: Frag grenades are of little use to Defender Guardians because frag grenades are better used by troops that assault in hth. The choice of which heavy weapon to take is dependent on which foe is being faced. It is my opinion that the best general purpose heavy weapon to take is the Star cannon as it is good against massed troops, heavily armoured troops and light vehicles. The Bright lance is good against vehicles but is a waste against troops. Scatter laser is effective against light vehicles and lightly armoured troops, but it is too unreliable to be counted on. When a scatter laser fires 6 shots it is great, but in my experience, I seem to roll 1's at the worst time. As a general rule it is better to rely on something that doesn't rely too much on luck. The shuriken cannon is fairly good against enemies that have poor armour saves. For 15 points more, the Star cannon represents better value as it is more versatile. As for the missile launcher, I think that for 5 points less, the Bright lance is better against armour and the plasma cannon is better against troops in power or terminator armour, even though the missile launcher has greater range.
|