How to play Aeldari

The premier mobility and finesse army: fast, fragile, and elite. Out-position and out-tempo the enemy, strike with precision, and retreat before the return punch.

Army rule: Battle Focus (new for 11th, replacing Strands of Fate): gain a pool of Battle Focus tokens each round and spend them for one of six mobility tricks per unit per phase, such as extra move, Star Engines on vehicles, ignoring Overwatch, or Fade Back after being shot. The old Strands dice manipulation now lives on the Seer Council detachment.

Strengths

Best-in-class mobility and tempo control; you choose when and where fights happen and disengage at will
Precise, efficient damage that punches above model count
Deep, flexible toolbox across detachments for mobility, fate dice, Wraith durability, or Aspect aggression

Weaknesses

Fragile; most units die fast to concentrated fire if caught out of position
Low model count and high cost-per-unit, with little margin for bad trades
Demanding to pilot, and the -1-to-hit cover rule rewards opponents who pin them

Signature combos

Fire Prisms and skimmers abusing Star Engines for absurd threat range
Howling Banshees using Flitting Shadows and Sudden Strike to charge through Overwatch then consolidate to safety
Wraith constructs in Spirit Conclave for a durable core
Farseer-led Seer Council bringing back fate-dice manipulation

Gameplan

Win on tempo and objectives, not attrition. Out-move to hold more board, deliver surgical strikes, and Fade Back out of retaliation. Bank points steadily, never over-commit, and let the opponent walk into bad positions.

Playing against Aeldari

Apply board-wide pressure so they can't be everywhere, trade efficiently to remove key pieces when caught, and don't trust Overwatch or 'safe' distances since Battle Focus extends reach and ignores reactive fire.

Next steps

Browse all Aeldari datasheets → · What to buy → · General tactics →