Aeldari Builds in Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000

This is a pre-release army skeleton for the Aeldari in Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000, not a live patch meta and not a 10th-edition craftworld codex copied into a Total War UI. Of the four launch races, the Aeldari have had the least screen time across The Game Awards 2025 announce, later Alpha Strike coverage, the PC Gaming Show, and Gamescom 2026 hands-on. Creative Assembly has described them as swift, psychic, strike-then-vanish warfare. That is enough to practise habits. It is not enough to publish fake Aspect shrines, named Autarchs, or a points list.

Read the builds hub first so you know why this page is thinner on named units than Space Marines, Astra Militarum, or Orks. The preview tier list parks Aeldari in mid / unknown for the same reason. The Aeldari faction page is the lore and campaign framing; this page is only how to think about a list when the roster is still mostly unseen.

What CA has actually shown — and what it has not

Confirmed at the race level: Aeldari are a launch faction, they receive two lore sub-factions plus a custom warlord, and they sit in the same gun-and-cover engine as everyone else. Confirmed at the system level: cover, sightlines, mixed weapons, sentry mode, strafing vehicles, unlimited simulated ammunition in shown builds, heroes with bodyguards, strategic reserves, and bombardment all exist in Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000. None of those systems have been demonstrated as Aeldari exceptions. Do not assume they skip cover because they are “elves with shuriken”. WARHAMMER III High Elf muscle memory is the wrong teacher.

Not confirmed on this wiki as loadout fact: specific Aspect Warrior kits, named craftworlds, a Phoenix Lord as a legendary lord, or a full vehicle pool. If a preview thumbnail showed a silhouette we cannot honestly identify, it does not become a slot in the skeleton. When CA names a craftworld or a kit on stage, this page will gain a line. Until then the honest list is a playstyle, not a shopping cart.

Preview hit-and-run skeleton

Think in tempos, not in a fake 2,000-point roster.

1. Warlord core — a custom warlord with a bodyguard. Each launch race gets this option plus two lore sub-factions. We will not invent the unnamed craftworld. Do not treat the warlord as an immortal High Elf prince. Shown heroes in this engine live inside bodyguards.
2. A small battleline — enough infantry to hold a ruin and a sightline, not enough to play as Cadians or Ork mobs. If you flood the map, you are playing the wrong race.
3. A deletion element — whatever CA eventually shows as the Aeldari “delete this unit” tool, psychic or otherwise. The preview language is precision, not attrition. Spend it on the Baneblade’s escort, the Marine squad in the open, or the Stompa’s friends — then leave.
4. Mobility over a second super-heavy — Guard have a shown Baneblade, Orks a shown Stompa. Aeldari have not been sold to this wiki as a super-heavy faction in the footage that matters. Do not invent a Titan analog to feel complete.
5. Army tools as the real wargear — reserves and the ability to appear where the gunline is not looking are more important than a fake fifth Aspect slot. Sentry on your own fragile gunline still matters; hit-and-run fails if you chase a bait mob into a Cadian ruin.

Chaos Space Marines are post-launch and are not an Aeldari ally. Traitor Guard is a Guard reskin. Neither belongs on this skeleton.

How the skeleton plays in battle

Versus Astra Militarum, you are fighting sentry mode, overlapping lanes, and a Baneblade. Do not take the street they built. Appear after tanks have committed facing, delete a support piece, and leave before the blob turns. Versus Orks, you cannot win a WAAAGH! grind. Pick the Meganob punch or the warlord, not the entire mob wave. Versus Space Marines, both lists are small. The Marine player wants you stuck in a street; you want their four-unit Strike Force to waste bombardment on empty ruins. Cover still decides that fight. Unlimited ammo in shown builds does not save an Aeldari unit standing in the open against per-model line of fire.

Strafing and reversing, if Aeldari vehicles are on the table in a given preview, follow the same accuracy-penalty logic CA showed on tanks. Mixed weapons mean you look inside the card. Bodyguards mean the Farseer-shaped hole in your list is not a solo diving champion.

Campaign posture is part of the build

On the galactic map, Guard and Aeldari sit between Marine orbital upgrades and Ork dirt industry. This wiki will not invent extra Aeldari resources, webway currencies, or craftworld buildings CA has not named. Crusade theaters still chain toward Armageddon, a story currently headlined by Yarrick and Ghazghkull. That does not mean Aeldari are absent from the sandbox; it means we will not write a fake Armageddon craftworld campaign beat to fill the gap.

Platforms — Steam app 4199910, Epic, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series — do not add Aspect kits. Full controller support is listed on Steam because this is the first mainline Total War on DualSense and Xbox pads; console controls stay honest about unpublished binds. Japanese voice-over and the 18+ rating do not complete the roster either.

How to practise this list

Use the army planner to tick cover, sentry, reserves, bodyguard, and “leave after the strike” even while the named units are missing. That is more useful than a fake Autarch loadout. Register for the closed beta that opened sign-ups in June 2026 — Aeldari hands-on is exactly what public footage still lacks. Wishlist with the wishlist and beta tool. If you only know you like hit-and-run, confirm it with the faction picker and how to play. When Creative Assembly shows a real Aeldari roster, this page stops being a caution sign. Until the 2027 launch of Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000, it stays labelled as a playstyle skeleton with mid / unknown power on the preview tier list.