Eldar of the Saim-Hann Craftworld prepare to attack a younger race.

The story of the Eldar is one of regret and decline. Millennia ago, their race held the galaxy in their grasp. Their power was great — the Eldar could reshape entire worlds by the power of thought alone. Nothing threatened their dominance, and the Eldar began to lose themselves in the decadence of their comfortable existence.

However, their decadent indulgences exacted a terrible price. Unbeknownst to the Eldar, the energy from their depravity had caused increasing disturbances in the Warp. Eventually, these disturbances coalesced into a Chaos God who came to be known as Slaanesh. When Slaanesh was born, the energy from his birth cry traveled through the Warp and obliterated the minds of the majority of the Eldar race.

The few survivors, scattered on Craftworlds on the edge of the galaxy, realized what had happened and committed themselves to avoiding the same fate. By devoting themselves to self-discipline, the remaining Eldar avoided the decadent follies of their brethren. Now, the Eldar fight to keep their ancient race from extinction.

On the battlefield, the Eldar can best be described as a combined-arms army. Alone, each of their troop types is rather limited. In combination, the troop types compliment each other perfectly and are a fearsome force of war. Eldar players need to think like orchestra conductors, bringing in the right instrument of destruction at precisely the right time. Mastering this style of play is by no means easy. However, when played right, the Eldar are both a beautiful and terrible force to behold.