Aspect Warriors

A group of Aspect Warriors led by an Aeldari Warlock; from left to right is a Dire Avenger, Howling Banshee, Fire Dragon, Striking Scorpion, Dark Reaper and Swooping Hawk.

Aspect Warriors are those Craftworld Aeldari or Asuryani who specialise in certain aspects of combat during their time on the Path of the Warrior. The Asuryani are known to pursue any task they set out to do with an intensity that makes Human efforts pale in comparison.

When an Asuryani feels called to the Path of the Warrior, he or she will join an Aspect Shrine, a cult of warriors who train themselves to embody some aspect of the Aeldari War God Khaine or ancient Aeldari myths and legends.

All Asuryani craftworlds maintain at least some Aspect Shrines, although some, notably the Biel-Tan craftworld, have more than others and place a greater emphasis on the Path of the Warrior in their society.

The following table lists all known Asuryani Warrior Aspects and their roles in the Aeldari order of battle:

Aspect Name	Phoenix Lord	Battlefield Role
Dire Avengers	Asurmen, the Hand of Asuryan	General Combat
Howling Banshees	Jain Zar, the Storm of Silence	Melee Combat
Striking Scorpions	Karandras, the Shadow Hunter	Melee Combat, Stealth
Dark Reapers	Maugan Ra, the Harvester of Souls	Long-Ranged Fire Support
Fire Dragons	Fuegan, the Burning Lance	Anti-Armour, Anti-Structure role
Swooping Hawks	Baharroth, the Cry of the Wind	Airborne Infantry
Warp Spiders	Unknown	Hit-and-Run Attacks
Shining Spears	Drastanta, the Tempest of Starlight	Hit-and-Run Attacks
Crimson Hunters	Unknown	Air Superiority, Combat Pilots
Eagle Pilot	Amon Harakht	Asuryani Fighter Pilots
Crystal Dragons	Unknown	Unknown
Slicing Orbs of Zandros	Unknown	Unknown
Shadow Spectres	Irillyth, the Shade of Twilight	Anti-Armour
Ebon Talons	Unknown	Unknown

Exarchs

Each Aspect Shrine is led by an Exarch, an Aeldari fallen to the curse of inability to leave the Path of the Warrior. These Exarchs are powerful warriors, doomed to either die on the battlefield, or to eventually be chosen to become the Avatar of Khaine. The first member or founder of an Aspect Shrine is called a Phoenix Lord.

When an Aspect Warrior becomes an Exarch, they will don one of the ancient suits of Exarch armour that belong to that shrine, and this suit will bond to their flesh permanently.

This means that the new warrior's soul merges with those of the previous wearers of the suit, which is essentially a compact and mobile version of the craftworld's Infinity Circuit.

Leaving the Warrior's Path

Once an Aeldari warrior finishes their time as an Aspect Warrior, he or she moves on to other occupations, as called for by the conventions of the Asuryani Path. Since the population of the surviving Aeldari race is so low, all Aeldari are expected to serve if called to fight.

Thus, if a craftworld subsequently goes to war, these former Aspects will frequently be called upon to serve as Guardians, a type of citizen-soldier serving as part of a militia to defend the craftworld.

Aspect Paths

Dire Avengers

The Dire Avengers are the oldest and most numerous Aspect Warriors. They are armed with Shuriken Catapults, an effective if short-ranged weapon, and perform as elite troops. The Exarch can be equipped to improve the squads' close combat abilities.

The Phoenix Lord of the Dire Avengers is Asurmen, the Hand of Asur. He was the first of the Phoenix Lords and the greatest, who instructed all the other founding Phoenix Lords in the skills of combat.

Dark Reapers

The Dark Reapers represent the Aeldari War God Khaine in his aspect as a destroyer, and specialize in long-range firepower. Their standard weapon is a Reaper Launcher which is a powerful, long ranged weapon that fires several small missiles at the target.

Their Exarch can be equipped with more powerful weapons, such as a Missile Launcher or Shuriken Cannon. The Phoenix Lord of the Dark Reapers is Maugan Ra, the Harvester of Souls.

Eagle Pilots

An Eagle Pilot is an Aeldari Aspect Warrior who follows the Warrior Path of the Phoenix Lord Amon Harakht, of whom almost nothing is known. Like their fellow airborne Aspect Warriors, the Swooping Hawks, the Eagle Pilots take exultant pleasure in the arts of aerial combat.

These Aeldari are superb pilots of any type of Aeldari aircraft or spacecraft, but especially excel in the aerial arts of war. Their skill and artistry in flight is nearly unmatched by the combat pilots of any other species, as they take to the skies in their Nightwing interceptors or Phoenix strike aircraft.

Fire Dragons

The Fire Dragons specialize in short-range firepower and anti-tank warfare. They carry a Fusion Gun and Melta Bombs, both excellent weapons for dealing with vehicles, and have Grenade Launchers built into their armour. The Fusion Gun is also very effective against heavy infantry such as Space Marine Terminators, but is limited by its short range.

The Exarch can be given a Fire Pike, a stronger Fusion Gun with better range, and skills to make him an excellent tank-killer, as well as a highly dangerous melee combatant. The Phoenix Lord of the Fire Dragons is Fuegan, the Burning Lance.

Howling Banshees

The Howling Banshees are a close combat Aspect made up primarily of female Aeldari. The Howling Banshees are equipped with a Shuriken Pistol and a melee Power Weapon, usually an Aeldari blade. As the Power Weapon can easily slice through armour, the Banshees are very effective against well-armoured opponents like Space Marines in close combat.

They also wear a Banshee Mask, which alters their already naturally-piercing war cries into sonic screams that can burst eardrums and incapacitate foes, leaving them open to attack. This scream, when focused at a single target, can also be deadly on its own.

Howling Banshees can deliver a devastating first strike, but if they get mired in long-duration combat, attrition will work against them. The Exarch can be armed with an Executioner which boosts her strength. The Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees is Jain Zar, the Storm of Silence.

Shadow Spectres

Once a disciple of Asurmen, the first of the Aeldari Phoenix Lords, the Shadow Spectres' Phoenix Lord Irillyth, the Shade of Twilight, founded the Shrine of the Shadow Spectres on the Craftworld of Mymeara. Drawn to the small Craftworld in response to a vision of doom and horror, Irillyth gifted the skills of stealth, swiftness and all-consuming firepower to the warriors of Mymeara.

After many Terran years, the Phoenix Lord led a great war host to the legend-shrouded world of Bethalmae to destroy an alien race that would, many thousands of Terran years later, arise to threaten Craftworld Mymeara.

Neither he nor any of his warhost ever returned to the Craftworld, and with the loss of their Phoenix Lord, the Shadow Spectre Aspect fell into decline until just recently. The Shadow Spectres specialise in the deployment of highly-mobile, infantry-based anti-armour firepower and are experts at striking at enemy vehicles from concealment and extreme long-range.

Armed with Prism Rifles, each a potent anti-tank weapon, and equipped with Jetpacks, their mobility allows them to hunt down their chosen targets with the implacable patience of the dead, materialising seemingly from the very air to unleash their overwhelming firepower. The Shadow Spectres represent the Aeldari God of War Kaela Mensha Khaine in his aspect as the bringer of unexpected death on the battlefield.

Shining Spears

The Shining Spears are a fast-attack Aspect. They ride Aeldari jetbikes and are armed with a Laser Lance, giving them high mobility and a strong charge attack. They are limited by their small squad sizes.

The Exarch can be armed with a Bright Lance, providing an accurate but very expensive anti-tank unit. The Phoenix Lord of the Shining Spears is Drastanta, the Tempest of Starlight.

Striking Scorpions

The Striking Scorpions are another close-combat Aspect. They are armed with Aeldari Chainswords, Shuriken Pistols and Mandiblasters. They have better armour than the other Aspects, and are generally physically stronger than most Aeldari. These characteristics allow them to work very well against a large number of weaker opponents.

The Striking Scorpions are also effective against stronger opponents, but their relative physical fragility works against them in that situation. The Striking Scorpions Exarch can be armed with a Biting Blade which is effective against a few enemies, and a Scorpion's Claw, which combines a Powerfist and a Shuriken Catapult. The Phoenix Lord of the Striking Scorpions is Karandras, the Shadow Hunter.

Swooping Hawks

The Swooping Hawks are a highly mobile Aspect who serve as the Aeldari equivalent of airborne infantry. Equipped with an anti-gravity Jump Pack crafted with stylised wings, they can move rapidly across the battlefield, dropping grenades upon the enemy before swooping in for the kill.

Their weapons are not that powerful, and they are best employed as a flanking unit. The Exarch can be enhanced with certain melee weapons and powerful, close ranged weapons to become devastating in close combat. The Phoenix Lord of the Swooping Hawks is Baharroth, the Cry of the Wind.

Warp Spiders

The Warp Spiders are another highly mobile Aspect, equipped with a Warp Spider Jump Generator which allows them to jump into and out of the Warp, avoiding any obstacles in their way in realspace. This Warp-jumping is considered extremely dangerous, as it might attract the attention of daemons.

Since they do not have to run all over the battlefield, the Warp Spiders make use of stronger armour than most other Aspects. Their armour makes use of built-in Warp shielding similar to the Imperial Gellar Fields that protect them during their Warp-jumps and, as an added bonus, makes them highly resistant to psyker attacks since they use Warp energy.

Warp Spiders are armed with Death Spinners, which fire a net of monomolecular threads which slice into the flesh of the foe even as it entangles them. The Warp Spider Exarch can be given the ability to withdraw from combat, enhancing the Warp Spiders' survivability. The Warp Spiders have no known Phoenix Lord.

Videos

Warhammer 40,000 Grim Dark Lore Part 9 – Fall of the Aeldari

Sources

• Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
• Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pg. 23
• Codex: Eldar (4th Edition)
• Codex: Eldar (6th Edition)
• Codex Imperialis (2nd Edition)
• Imperial Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymeara, pp. 138-143
• Path of the Warrior (Novel) by Gav Thorpe, pg. 279
• Shadow Point (Novel) by Gordon Rennie, pg. 42