The Eldar are very well known for their psykers- the most notable by a long shot being the Farseer. Unlike the psykers of cruder races such as the Imperium, whose powers are seldom more than self-beneficial, the Farseer can bolster the abilities of an entire squad. Don’t be fooled, he does also have high potential in the shooting phase.
I never have an army without a Farseer. I generally take 2 powers and spirit stones, as well as runes of witnessing to ensure that those powers will be generally cast without fail every turn (and as is often the case, you will need them every turn. The Eldar cannot afford to fail). This set up will put the Farseer far above his starting cost of 55 points (generally 130-40), but do remember he is taking up one of the compulsory HQ slots. I don’t like the idea of taking more than 2 powers, as this seems uneconomical- the reason being that Farseers can only cast 2 powers a turn and thats IF they take spirit stones (unless their name happens to be Eldrad Ulthuan, of course). I’m not saying you should’nt EVER, it might be useful to have a choice at some point in a game; I’m just saying that in games of 1500 you can spend points on better things. You want to be able to cast the powers you choose every turn. Remember that fortune and guide only have a 6″ range so you’ll have to deply the Farseer near the unit you want to benefit from those powers. An obvious configuration is to have a shooting specialised unit (*ahem* dark reapers), preferably in cover, with a Farseer with guide and fortune placed conveniently behind them and out of LOS (They do tend to lead from the back). This makes an awesome firebase, as the reapers have the firepower to take on all kinds of infantry (remembering that the exarch will be allowed to re-roll the scatter dice for his tempest launcher thanks to guide), and their re-rollable saves OF ANY KIND make them very difficult to get rid of. Of course, if the Farseer wants a squad he is with to benefit from his powers, range is not an issue. Interesting thought: even though fortune is the most expensive power (30 points), if even one dark reaper (35 points) is saved by re-rolling a pass on a failed saved it has more than made up its points cost.
But of course, we also have Warlocks. Their role is best suited to make a unit for the Farseer to join, “babysitting” him so that he can’t be picked off by high S shots (remember, an assault cannon can instant kill him). I have found that a warlock bodyguard of 5-6 makes for a particularly resilient CC unit, with 4+ invulnerable saves re-rolling, with up to 21 WS 5 (assuming you take enhance, which you will) attacks that wound on 2’s. Thats going to cause a lot of wounds. Remember that they can also take heavy flamers! (Destructor), so any light infantry or vehicle of any armour value even close to them is doomed. Potential for a fortune only Farseer, perhaps? It goes to say, even though a Farseer on his own can potentially kill a Dreadnought in CC (and mine very often has), he won’t last long on his own.
A Farseer power that I have not yet mentioned is Doom, one that has a fearsome reputation. Instead of bolstering friendly units it affects enemy units, and has a longer range (24″). Allowing ALL wounds on a squad to be re-rolled is obviously very powerful, especially if that unit is about to be charged by a full squad of howling banshees (something I have not yet tried by the way, but absolutely love the sound of ;D). This can also greatly serve the weaker weapons in an Eldar army that rely on their sheer number of shots; dire avengers bladestorming is the obvious example, a potential 32 shots from one unit. There will be so many wounds, even space marines will eventually begin to tumble (eventually!).
I have always liked the idea of a Farseer on a jetbike, and I do plan to convert one, as his increased speed could serve to help pick out enemy units with his “offensive” powers like doom, eldritch storm and the feared mind war. Of course he would probably need babysitting by warlocks, which cost A LOT on jetbikes, and tank hunting with singing spears would probably be a role better suited to warlock bikers anyway. Remember that all the powers except mind war don’t require LOS. A doomed unit hit by eldritch storm is going to pay, especially if they have low toughness/armour (orks, gaunts, other eldar heaven forbid ;D). I’m not pro Eldrad but his Doom, followed by the double power he’s permitted which in this case is eldritch storm, can really whittle down swarms. Whether its Eldrad’s job to fight swarms is up to you…
Now, mind war. I love this power! The only downer is the range and the fact that you need LOS- getting within 18″ in full view is a bit daunting for a puny Farseer. A job for the Jetbike Farseer, or for the seer accompanied by his pose of warlock bodyguards, to add to their power in the shooting phase. Mind war is great! The one common misconception is that it works two ways like the spirit sword in fantasy, it does’nt. Most of the time, with so many Ld 10 things (remembering though that the model has to use its starting Ld!), it is just a matter of winning a dice roll. 50% chance of killing an aspiring champion with power fist, terminator with assault cannon (ok, it gets 5+ invulnerable…), even enemy characters might suffer a wound or two as their brains haemorrage. If the target has lower leadership, great! you get + modifiers to your roll. Generally you will be using mind war to kill power fists and power weapons which can give your aspect warriors a hard time, and heavy weapons which lets face it, give everything a hard time. If you can kill an overly expensive character with lots of upgrades poured into him by mind war, its very satisfying ;D.
Well thats about all I can think of for now. Lots of typing for a very versatile HQ choice!
