Eldar Tank Upgrades

After having read a post by Kirby over at the 3++ about Eldar tank upgrades which got me thinking about my army list. Mainly about how expensive the upgrades are and if they are really worth it. So here's a quick overview about each tank upgrade which are available to all of the Eldar tanks and my opinions of them.

Holo-Fields

Holo-Fields have always been one of my favourite upgrades of the entire game. It makes the tank 3 times as survivable although is almost a third of the cost of the tank itself. I would always take these as it made my tanks legendary at survival as my regular opponents never managed to kill them. I would always take them. But my opinion changed as I began to realise how much I was spending on the upgrade. I also found that my Fire Prisms never got to shoot in a game as they were always stunned, shaken or had their gun blown off. This effective made them 150 point battering rams. Not what I wanted. Now I don't take them on Fire Prisms but I would every time if Eldar could ignore crew stunned and shaken.

Star Engines

This is another upgrade I always used to take as it was so unique to the Eldar. Who else can go 36" in one turn (but those annoying new Dark Eldar Reavers!). For transports it is amazing as you can be pretty much wherever you want in a maximum of 2 turns. It is also great for blocking LoS to your own units after they have shot so you can give valuable tanks cover saves and such. However it is also quite an expensive upgrade to make already expensive tanks into nothing more but mobile cover saves, a rhino can do that. All Eldar tanks are already Fast, Skimmers so can boost 24". This should be more than enough speed in any game to keep away from your opponent in surprising circumstances. The only reason I would take it now is if I had left over points as it does do good in some situations where you need to redeploy or contest a far away objective.

Vectored Engines


These are just a joke in 5th editon. They served a great purpose in 4th edition but now when the only time they will be used is when you turbo-boost then become immobilised, which you will get a 4+ cover save against anyway, they are rubbish. The only other reason is when you want to turbo-boost into cover and contest objectives so you don't crash yourself. But really you will get auto-hit in combat anyway so your as good as dead either way. And for more points than even the Star Engines it is no contest.



Spirit Stones


Now we come to the only upgrade worth taking in my current opinion. This is because the main advantage Eldar and their tanks have is their speed, if they get denied that they are denied their greatest strength, mobility. This is especially true for Eldar tanks as if they are stunned and cannot move they are auto-hit in combat. Not a good thing for Eldar. It also allows them to at least turbo-boost for a 4+ cover save. It is also the cheapest of the options so won't bust the bank.But with that said it can add up across an army so if you are trying to spam Eldar tanks then leave it at home.



So there's my basic opinions on the tank upgrades. All of them have saved my skin or I wish I had them because they would have but overall with Eldar being so pricey anyway you need to seriously consider whether it is worth spending even more on them for what comes down to situational upgrades.