Day 23 of the Eldar 40k Christmas ‘Advent Engine’ leaks bring new 40k rules and stat line rumors for an updated Avatar!
New Eldar Rules & Models Christmas ‘Advent Engine’ Rumors
So first up is the Christmas Advent calendar-style Eldar rumors leak itself. This is what they plan to show each day from a credible source. So we have a lot to look forward to. We’re probably the most excited about day 23 and seeing anything for that new Avatar model.
Still, if this is all true, there are going to be a lot of new units and the army will be seeing a ton of changes.
As with any rumor, take it with as much salt as you need. This disclaimer states that the book isn’t done yet and everything is coming from the playtest.
It’s also interesting to think about the fact that they may have had an Eldar model release ready for years…
We’ve been seeing rumors for new models (especially Aspect Warriors), so we don’t see any reason they couldn’t see an update this big. If you’ve been dreaming of an Eldar update, this is basically as good as it’s going to get. It would be a little sad to not see an Asurmen update because that model needs one seriously badly.
Eldar vs Chaos Battle Box Set Coming in 2022
If this is true, it means the Eldar will most likely see a release sort of like the Black Templars or Orks, with a full month plus of staggered releases. Either way, with Eldar getting 3 new units in the rumored battle box set and Chaos grabbing 2, this will be one of the most anticipated boxes of the year.
However, we saw that Rangers would be coming in a 40k Kill Team box before, so we’ll just have to wait and see which rumor is correct. Lastly, the timeframe for everything has been sketchy as of late, so who knows when it will actually hit in 2022.
Eldar Ranger Jetbikes Shroud Runners
If this is true, these new Eldar Rander Shourd Runner Jetbikes seem very strong. A mix of unique rules, buffed weapons, and of course signature mobility, mean this new tool might be able to help push the faction back into competitive relevance. Reliable ballistic skill, unique cover rules, and a relatively low cost all seem too good to be true! We just have to wait and see.
New Eldar Yriel & Full Corsair Pirate Army Rules
If you ever wanted to make a full corsair pirate list led by the prodigal Prince Yriel (who may have a bit of a shadow looming over him) these new 40k rules rumors are for you!
It also seems like there will also be changes in how farseers and warlocks are fielded overall now in Eldar lists. Plus with the new Ranger kits look for them to be hot now too.
New Eldar Battle Focus & Psychic Powers Rules for 40k
Well if this rumored rule for Battle focus doesn’t change then it looks like it will become useful once again for sure. Hopefully, there is clarity about what kind of move it will be so that players will know if they can do it after deepstriking or not.
No other big changes are rumored to the rest of the powers from the looks of it either.
New Eldar Reserve & Surviviabilty 40k Rules for 9th Edition
Honestly, some of this may sound a little too good to be true. Exploding 6’s is always good and may make shoving sub-par units through the webway better, as opposed to other things. That being said when you look at all these rules together, seems like it may make for a lot of similar gameplay if true…
Buyer beware on these rumors 100%
New Ynnari Army Wide 40k Rules & Composition
Always fighting first is sure to kick up some opinions with players, but at the end of the day, it may only matter if you can stack buffs on them to make them death blenders.
New ‘Miracle Dice’ 40k Rules For Craftworlds Eldar
Well, this one may be a little ‘too much’ even for a rumor, but it is a mechanic that at least two 40k armies out there have. In the case of Tzeentch, they cast a lot of spells, so it’s possible Eldar could get it too we suppose. Eldar Miracle Dice? Add salt to this one for sure.
Previous rumors have spoken of a new Harlequins unit that possibly would come in a Kill Team box, similar to the Eldar Rangers rumors. These rumors if true may give the Harlequins a bit more on the survivability side, that they have previously been lacking.
New Eldar 40k Secondaries For Scoring Objectives
Interesting that this rumor indicates an increase in Warp Charge psychic action each time you do it. If that is the case it seems like perhaps other similar ones may get NERFed when the Chapter Approved GT book comes out for 2022.
The board positions one is perhaps poorly worded, however by the looks of it they already may have figured that whatever the new rules for Rangers are, it may have been easy to score.
Eldar Craftworlds 40k Faction Rules Ulthwe & More
Unfortunately, some Eldar Craftworlds haven’t really seen a lot of play in 8th and 9th editions! perhaps these new Eldar Craftworlds rules will make taking them more viable!
We really love seeing Iyanden on the tabletop, as the colors contrast each other so well! Saim-hann may just be a very easy choice for a lot of players as well with all these Jetbike rumors out there too.
New Eldar Wraithguard & Wraithblades 40k Rules Slap
Speaking of Iyanden, these rumors seem to suggest a few improvements to these shadowy undead automontons. First is more attack opportunities with about the same damage overall. Shooting seems to be a tad bit better and perhaps even allowed in combat as well, which is just bananas if that Wraithguard rules weapon profile is true.
The big question is will they still be -1 to hit for moving their heavy weapons around?
Eldar Wave Serpent Buffed With New 40k Rules
Well, these rumored Eldar Wave Serpent 40k rules while seeming a bit on the wish list side makes a lot of sense. Currently, it reduces damage by one to one, so it’s possible they could change its rules to wound on a 4+. Getting a 5++ and making the Eldar Wave Serpent still reduce damage is bold but not unheard of rules wise.
New Eldar Autarch 40k Rules Not That Tight
Okay so in theory there is a good baseline for improvement here over the current Eldar Autarch rules. However, these rumored rules just are not that tight. Now they do seem to indicate that additional rules will make the Eldar Autarch a ‘melee monster’ but of course that remains to be seen right now.
Maybe we’re missing something. You can have all the attacks in the world, but unless Eldar gets more strength buff rules, and have more protection from attack backs their fey frames will never be “melee monsters’. Eldar Autarch models especially need these sorts of new rules as they tend to want to lead from the front, but can’t.
Eldar Guardians & Dire Avengers 40k Rules Buffs
If these new rules are true looks like Eldar Guardians gained an extra 6″ of range which probably is better overall honestly. We had seen glimpses of what looked like new fusion and chainblade bits too so perhaps Storm Guardians may rise up to see some play soon with new ‘assault’ buffs. Also, a change in save of 5+ to 4+ may also end up making a huge difference against non-MEQ armies as well.
New Eldar Vehicle Weapon 40k Rules Are More Deadly
Well, the Falcon pulse lance surely slaps if these rumored Eldar vehicle weapon rules are true- d3+3 damage is more than respectable. The question is what will the profile be for the Eldar Hornet whose Pulse Laser is currently S7 -2AP D2, which is about average these days.
Shuriken stays in line with day 16’s rumors, and the Scatter laser can put out 12 total shots when taken in tandem which is more than enough to clear out chaff given Eldar’s current ability to modify dice rolls.
Finally, the Eldar Bright Lance may shine (get it?) once again as well with these vehicle weapon rules rumors if the points keep it fieldable en masse.
Eldar Aspect Warrior, Phoenix Lord & Exarch 40k Rules
Interesting rumors for sure which may have more implications for Asurman, and perhaps how he may or may not continue to buff other aspect warriors now. Phoenix Lords always seemed to be underpowered in the invul department too, so if they are getting a blanket save now we may see a lot more of them hit the tables in the near future.
Aspect warriors as well always needed “a little bit more” to make them worth taking outside of rangers for the most part in lists. So here’s hoping for the accuracy of these rumors.
New Eldar Warp Spiders & Swooping Hawk 40k Rules
For those of you out there clamoring for some better hitting power for the Aspect Warriors, these new 40k rules rumors offer a glimmer of hope! While abusive in the past, there look to be some changes coming for the Swooping Hawk Grenade packs- plus an exceptional S4 on their swords. All Eldar ever seemed to want was some strength 4 in combat, so this could mean things like Striking Scorpions may be even better soon as well!
Warp Spiders may see some changes coming to their shooting weapons, and also get a bit more cagey perhaps doing similar work on the table as Eldar Rangers in the future. Both of these units look even better if Day 18’s rumors also come true as well.
New Eldar Battlefield Roles 40k Rules
Welp, who had money on all of this? If even one of these turns out to be true it can have pretty big ramifications for how Eldar Army lists are constructed in the future. There are a couple of precedents too for the swap in Ranger spots with the new Shroud Runners units if you compare them to the Space Marine codex.
Warlocks getting full smite too is pretty interesting. They could be a mini-mortal wound machine now, and free up Farseers to do the heave casting living for the rest of the army.
New Eldar Howling Banshees & Striking Scorpion 40k Rules
Maybe these are the new aspect warrior rumors you have been waiting for? So for real strength 4 base really ups the power level of all the aspects 100% plus with a rumored blanket save, as extra bonuses like exploding 6’s to hit and striking last for their opponents both these aspects are looking very well positioned in 9th!
These new 4ok rules rumors for Striking Scorpions and Howling banshees are some of the spiciest we’ve seen so far, and we hope they are true!
New Eldar Heavy Support 40k Weapon Rules & NERFS
So some pluses and some minuses if this pans out. First of all the Night Spinnerhaving a bigger punch in the AP department may be huge and see them in a lot of lists going forward. Fire Prisms are in a similar place, but maybe not auto-include as much due to the points, and the fact that the opponents will have to dedicate resources to dealing with them.
So far, GW is four for four recently using one prolific artist’s work to base their new minis on. With a blurry datasheet and model spotted online recently, we know now the number may be up to five! So let’s quickly recap the old artwork then compare it to the spotted Eldar Avatar of Khaine model. We can also compare the rumored rules to the new datasheet and see just how correct it was.
We’ve included the art below, but if you want to see all four of the old examples and comparisons to previous Mark Gibbons artwork you can read our click here to read our previous post.
What The New Plastic Eldar Avatar Was Thought To Look Like
Here’s Mark Gibbons’s artwork for the Avatar and honestly it’s pretty awesome. Since GW has been loving to put minis on the base (like primaris lieutenants) this makes even more sense. There have been rumors floating around for a while now about a new Eldar Avatar miniature, and while we like the old one, we would love for it to look more like the picture above.
Much like with the other minis updated from his art, they keep true to the old model, but just make them way cooler.
These rumors (and composite image above) come from Aeldari Warhammer 40k Discord, which you can sign up for here.
When you look at these two pictures side by side, it really looks like this could easily be the model. The blood effects on the old one are, shall we say, old. When compared to his artwork, the Rumor Engine looks so much more like his piece.
Speaking of a reveal, here is what may be the star of the Games Workshop New Years Day 2022 Preview, the New Eldar Avatar looks absolutely stunning!
New Plastic 40k Eldar Avatar Model
Glorgious (misspelled on purpose), this new model looks like GW replicated the 80s with today’s technology and it is stunning!
Next up spotted on Reddit and promptly removed, were these images from the LVO 2022 preview:
So it looks like the Avatar will not only have a helmeted head but also a bare one that has some serious Night Elves vibes. Also, note the axe version of the Wailing Doom as well as a sword.
Not only does the new kit come with three head options, it also has three weapons; in addition, the new Avatar is adorned with the runes from a number of different Craftworld Aspects, creating a truly customizable monster to add to your Craftworlds army
The flames seem to also be separate bits that can be placed on the base. As far as price goes, the Forge World version currently goes for $110, so this one may be priced similarly…
It still looks like we have seen all the options for the new Eldar Avatar though, however, his base is for sure the biggest yet, perhaps 110mm round.
It looks to be at least 3 guardians wide, which appear to be in 32mm and not 27mm bases when you compare them to the Space Marine Bladeguard in the lower right frame. All that of course is just speculation on the sizes from the images we have currently.
Glorgious.
RUMORS: New Eldar Avatar Rules & Stat Line Are Hot
As seen in the Christmas Leaks on discord, these new rules rumors for the Eldar Avatar are definitely exciting to read.
Keeping the 4++ is nice plus the halving of damage and other Eldar rules will let him stay alive longer. Then, getting two types of attacks will make it more versatile, overall. Plus, d6+2 damage is nothing to overlook! He can kill tanks and other big guys super easily with 14 S and 7 attacks!
Again, his points will be depending on the rest of the rules in the book, so hard to judge that but he is expensive.
With the artwork and teaser looked at, we had a pretty good idea it would be similar. With rumored rules, we also had an idea of how hed function, but now let’s check out the actual avatar datasheet!
New Avatar of Khaine Datasheet & Model Spotted
So what’s waiting for you in the pages of this massive new 200-page codex? Let’s start with new ways to build the mixed-faction Aeldari armies of your dreams. Their race may be in decline, but they’re full of vibrant factions who can be called on for aid.
As well as rules for Asuryani Aeldari (that’s craftworlds to me and you), this new codex also has rules for fielding Harlequins – we’ll have more info on adding these deadly clowns to your armies later in the week. We saw the first Corsairs miniature at LVO, and you can also include them in an army. You can even dedicate yourself to the Aeldari god of death and take a Ynnari army – all using the same codex!
Warhammer Community just unveiled the rules, but originally seen on Reddit, this blurry datasheet features the model and the full rules page! So let’s dive in and see what we can get from it.
Starting out with the model image in the top left, we can match up all the teaser video screen caps to more or less confirm this as legit!
Additionally, all of the rumored rules from the Christmas Eldar leaks above for the new Eldar Avatar also look 100% correct, which means it was a pretty reliable source after all!
If you aren’t familiar with the old rules, We’ve also got that for you right here:
Just by comparing the sheer size of the sheet, we can see that the Avatar of Khaine re-work/update is a big one, getting a ton of added power!
For an extra 70 points (rumored to be 270 from above), he sees upgrades across his entire statline, with everything getting better (except the WS and BS which were already at 2+)
His ranged attack gets a huge power boost and gains a very similar effect to Mortarion’s pistol getting a “shoot over” effect damaging models to passes over. Which thanks to the upgraded stats of the attack, make it much, much better overall.
As for melee, he gets a two-profile option for focused and multi-target attacks. The focused hit has a base of 7 attacks at 14S, -5 AP, and averages 5 damage, making it ridiculously strong. While the sweep has 14 attacks at 7S, -2 AP, 2 damage, making for an easy space marine squad wiper with each wound removing a full model.
His old 5+ invulnerable save has been upgraded to a 4+, but now ALSO reduces damage by half! His auras were also slightly changed, now “moral tests” just ignore modifiers instead of auto-passing, which is fine. While his re-roll charge aura was reduced to 6″ range. Both auras of course also only affect CORE units, as with every other updated factions’ auras. He also gained an explosion on 6s when destroyed which is fine, and on the theme for the violent departure of the Avatar.
Lastly, there is a new downside, which restricts him to not being able to take a Warlord Trait or Relic, which seems completely fair seeing as this guy just got upgraded all the way up to a mini-Mortarion for a fraction of the cost!
GW Reveals New 40k Eldar Avatar Rules
The new stat line is pretty sweet and it looks like the spotted datasheet above got it exactly. So that means the decaying wounds profiles are probably also pretty close to correct. With better stats all around, the new model is bound to make some lists and do some damage!
Sweating already? That’s not just the heat emanating from his blistering body. The Wailing Doom – or Suin Daellae, for the Aeldari amongst you – is the Avatar’s signature weapon. With its edge honed by Vaul and its balance tested by Asuryan, all three forms of this divine weapon are thirsty for blood.
At strength 7, even the sweeping blow will smash through some high armor units, not to mention it will get it double attacks! Then the Piercing Strike will get it so much strength AP and an insane amount of damage. Enough to tear through pretty much anything.
Shooting Attack
Of course, nothing in combat is guaranteed, so why not soften up your opponents with a bit of cheeky pre-combat shooting? The Wailing Doom isn’t limited to hacking and slashing – it can fire a 12” column of searing flame that hits any unit it touches.
If you can get this across 2-3 tanks or big models, this will do some insane damage. Especially considering you don’t have to make additional hit rolls, just make the one and you’re good to go.
Molten Form
None of this would be worth much if the Avatar crumpled before withering firepower. Unfortunately for his opponents, this molten metal embodiment of war has a 2+ save, a 4+ invulnerable save, and halves all incoming damage.
With the good saves and halving damage, let’s hope you’ll be able to get this monster close before it takes too much damage!
Here’s all the latest on the upcoming rules updates and points changes for Warhammer 40k.
- RUMORS: New 40k Points Changes In Chapter Approved 2022
- RUMORS: New 40k Core Rulebook & Rules Changes on the Way
- RUMORS: New Primaris Space Marines 40k Rules & Minis
- New 40k Chapter Approved GT 2022 Missions
- New 40k Grand Tournament 2022 Secondary Objectives
- Warhammer 40k Balance Updates & Rules Changes
- All The Tau 40k Rules So Far
- New Chaos Space Marines Rules & Rumors
- Eldar Release Rules & Rumors
- 7 New Warhammer Models In New Years Day 2022 Preview
All the Newest GW Model & Rules Previews
Do you think this will be the new all-star Eldar model? Are you excited for the high-res full reveal still?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
