Aeldari in Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000
Swift, psychic, and the launch race Creative Assembly has shown the least.
Aeldari are the fourth launch race in Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000, and they have had the least screen time of the four. That is not a slight. It is the honest state of the previews. Creative Assembly has named them alongside Space Marines, Astra Militarum, and Orks, has described them as swift, psychic, and armed with elegant weapons, and has shown far more of crash-site Strike Forces and river-crossing gunlines than of Craftworld warfare. This page will not invent Aspect Warriors, named Craftworlds, wraith constructs, or a Webway mechanic because a tabletop codex has them.
If you want a race with a fat public kit, start on the faction hub and pick Marines, Guard, or Orks. If you want speed and psychic precision, and you can live with a thinner preview, stay here. Pair the page with the getting started guide, a skeleton from Aeldari builds that will stay conservative until more footage lands, and the early faction tier list which is labelled as a preview read for a reason.
What has actually been said
The public language is short. Aeldari are swift. They are psychic. Their weapons are elegant. The intended loop is strike then vanish, not a gunline that holds a river and not a WAAAGH! that industrialises a hive. That is enough to know they are a fourth asymmetric race, and not enough to write a unit-by-unit codex.
What we will not do:
- Name a Craftworld as a launch sub-faction. Each race gets two lore sub-factions at launch; CA has not put Aeldari names on the same slides as Ultramarines, Cadians, and Bad Moons.
- List Dire Avengers, Howling Banshees, Fire Dragons, or any other Aspect as confirmed Total War units.
- Assume they play like High Elves from Total War: WARHAMMER III with shuriken glued on. The new engine is built for guns, cover, and sightlines. Aeldari will have to live in that language even if their fantasy is to leave a street before you can answer.
- Pretend Gamescom 2026 or Alpha Strike gave them equal camera time. They did not.
The closed beta later in 2026 is the first honest chance for this page to grow. The 2027 release is the second. Until then, treat every “Aeldari tier list” that ranks units CA has not shown as fan fiction.
How they likely sit in the four-race sandbox
Space Marines are few models, high power, orbital Strike Forces, fleet upgrades in the void. Astra Militarum are Cadian gunlines, tanks, and Yarrick’s dirt war. Orks are mobs, Meganobz, Deff Dreads, Stompas, and industrialised planets. Aeldari, by CA’s own contrast, are the race that should not be there when the Baneblade finishes rotating. That is a role, not a roster.
On the campaign layer the studio has named planets, fleets, governors with personality, orbital bombardment, world-destroying weapons, and crusade theaters that chain system campaigns into 600-turn-scale wars on the road to Armageddon. It has not named an Aeldari-specific economy the way it has named Marine orbit upgrades and Ork industrialisation. We will not invent one. Expect them to use the same galactic sandbox with a different tempo: you are not holding a hive for fifty turns if the fantasy is to strike and vanish. That is inference from stated identity, not a leaked building tree.
The setting is the Era Indomitus. The named destination is Armageddon. Aeldari have not been given a Yarrick or a Ghazghkull analogue on the Skulls 2026 teaser. Do not bolt them onto that rivalry until CA does.
Custom warlords, and what is not at launch
Customisation is a launch pillar for all four races. You can field a custom Aeldari warlord with name, colours, heraldry, and traits, plus mixed wargear in the style Alpha Strike showed on other armies. That is not the same as CA revealing a Craftworld picker.
Traitor Guard is a custom reskin of Astra Militarum, not an Aeldari mechanic. Chaos Space Marines are post-launch. Director Attila Mohacsi has described a single game Creative Assembly will expand for years rather than numbered sequels. If Aeldari feel thin at launch, the honest reading is “less footage today,” not “they will never get units.” The dishonest reading is filling this page with a 10th-edition shopping list.
David Harbour’s mysterious role from The Game Awards on 11 December 2025 is not an Aeldari confirmation either. We do not assign him a Farseer.
How to practise them before more footage exists
- Learn the gun game first. Cover, sightlines, suppression, and sentry mode are the language of this Total War. Aeldari still have to live in it. Start with getting started.
- Do not copy a High Elf ambush from WARHAMMER III and expect it to survive a Leman Russ that strafes while firing.
- Assume you have fewer bodies than Orks and less forgiveness than Guard. Strike then vanish only works if you leave.
- Use Aeldari builds as a placeholder skeleton, not as a finished meta. Rebuild it after the closed beta.
- Read the faction tier list as an early ranking of identities, not of unrevealed Aspect shrines.
- If you need a named rival to practise against, the public battles are Marines versus Orks and Guard versus Orks. Aeldari players should learn those matchups from the outside until CA puts them in the pit.
Who should main Aeldari in 2026
Main them if the idea of swift psychic strikes is the reason you want Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000, and you accept that this wiki will be thinner here than on the other three races until more streams land. Pick someone else if you need a confirmed kit — Razorbacks and Terminators, Leman Russ and Baneblade, Meganobz and a Stompa — before you can enjoy a campaign. Wishlist the game, register for the closed beta, and come back to this page when Creative Assembly finally gives the Aeldari a proper camera.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 questions.
Have Aeldari been confirmed for Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000?
Yes. They are one of the four launch races, each with two lore sub-factions plus a custom warlord. They have simply had the least footage.
Which Aeldari Craftworld is in the game?
Creative Assembly has not named an Aeldari sub-faction in the same public breath as Ultramarines, Cadians, and Bad Moons. We will not invent one.
What Aeldari units have been shown?
CA has described swift, psychic forces with elegant weapons and strike-then-vanish warfare. Named Aspects, wraith constructs, and vehicles have not been put on a Total War stage the way Razorbacks or Stompas have.
Should I main Aeldari in the closed beta?
Main them if you want speed and psychic precision and can live with less preview information. If you need a fat confirmed kit, start with Space Marines, Astra Militarum, or Orks.
Will this page stay this honest after launch?
It will grow when CA shows more. It will not fill empty space with a tabletop shopping list. Check the faction hub and getting started guide for the systems that already exist.