So I have had a couple of games with my Banshee’s in my new
list against Sean’s Tau and then against Erik’s Imperial Fists and here’s my
thoughts on them so far.
In both games my Banshee’s lived but were severely depleted
which I suspect is to be expected from a very fragile close combat unit that
has to run the length of the battle field to reach their target. I fielded an
Avatar in all the games and generally ran the Banshee’s quite close to him so
they were fearless most of the time. My philosophy of running them in an army
list that was full of higher priority dangers actually worked wonders and in
the couple of games that I did use them, they weren't fired upon until the 3
rd
or 4
th turns.
The problem was, when they did manage to get across the
battlefield their numbers were too sufficiently depleted that their damage
output was critically hamstrung. In the games that I played they were down to
two or three Banshees’s and at Strength 3 (Strength 4 on charge) and rolling
5’s most of the time to wound you really need to be rolling as many dice as
possible. I ran a unit of 6, Exarch with an Executioner but I think you really
would need to field them in a unit of 10 to help mitigate the casualties in
getting across the battlefield, which then creates its own new problem. 10
Banshee’s are hell of a lot more noticeable than the 6 I was fielding and I am
sure they would attract increased fire.
Their kill tally in both games came to one Devil Fish and
then two tactical marines so effectively they just mopped up a few of my
enemies models near the end of the games. Certainly doesn’t warrant the
investment in points into them.
I still love the models and the fluff behind them and I am
sure I will get around to painting them at some stage but sadly my little play
test has only backed up the general consensus of this unit that exists among
Eldar players.
Pro’s:
Fast unit with +3” to run and with fleet
Great if charging a unit that isn’t in cover
Con’s:
No Grenades
Fragile
Damage output too low for Str 3
Needs large unit to be fielded to be worthwhile
No Delivery Mechanism
Recommendation: Do not field this unit
