Time to get to the meat of things: Units. The Asuryani have 20 HQ entries, which gives them a lot of choice and flexibility. The downside is fitting them all in. They all have specific uses that are great for your army, but without filling multiple detachments you'll struggle to get access to them all.
Farseers
There are 3 options for Farseers. These give you your access to the Runes of Fate and that makes them a key part of of any Asuryani force. They can manifest 2 powers and attempt to deny 2 powers a turn. Their offence outside of this is low, they really want to be supporting other units. Witchblades and Singing Spears always wound on a 2+, but they only have 2 attacks. Keep them out of combat unless absolutely necessary.
They all have an invulnerable save, the ability to re-roll dice in one Psychic test a turn and a 5+ save against mortal wounds. Interestingly, this becomes a 2+ if the source of mortal wounds is Perils of the Warp. Between that and the re-roll, Perils aren't to be as feared for a Farseer.
Eldrad Ulthran
Obviously, he can only go in an Ulthwe army and so will only have their Attribute. Combine this with his extra Toughness and Wound over the regular Farseer, and having a 3+ invule rather than a 4+ and he will be much more survivable. He can also manifest 1 additional power and when he passes a Psychic test, he gets +1 to the next one. At only 50 points more as well. The only reason not to take him is if you are playing a different Craftworld.
He has long been a signature character of the Eldar. As in the story he is slowly turning to crystal, he is often given more Toughness. Long gone are the days of 2nd Edition where this also made him less capable in combat.
Farseer
This is the stock version, and a great Psyker. I can't imagine fielding an army without one. Runes of Fate are well worth the points investment, and with this editions ability to pick your powers at the start of the game they are even more fantastic. If you aren't a fan of the Psychic prowess, it makes me wonder why you want to play Asuryani.
In 2nd Edition, you could only field one Farseer, but they were the top level Psyker for the army in those rules. Warlocks were simply Farseers in training. In 3rd Edition they were cheap, but you had to pay points for each power you wanted. At least you could choose the powers. After this, they haven't changed much.
Farseer Skyrunner
Same as a regular Farseer, but on a Jetbike. Good for the extra mobility, great for your Saim-Hann army. Ride the Wind is a great rule on them, making their Advance move an extra 6" rather than a die roll. Perfect for making sure they are in right position at the right time, which is both flavourful for the Eldar and key to making the army synergies work.
This option was missing in 3rd Edition, possibly due to lack of model. It soon returned though, and was a staple HQ choice in 7th Edtion during the infamous "Scat-Bike Spam" era.
Warlocks
Support Psykers, they give you access to Runes of Battle and the potent buffs/debuffs found therein. With only 2 Wounds, they aren't something you want exposed to the enemy. They would be a cheap source of Smite, if they weren't restricted in the way they use it. Great for adding more Psychic protection to the army, though Perils of the Warp can easily prove deadly. Like the Farseer, their powers feel too good to ignore, for both you during army construction and your opponent on the battlefield.
Warlock
The obvious option. Grab some of these, possibly through a Supreme Command Detachment and then sprinkle across the army during deployment. Be careful though, as they are fragile. Enemy snipers could be their bane.
In 2nd Edition, they were your other Psykers, being available in 3 levels. Then they became unit leaders, so their powers only really supported that one unit. This meant that even when you could take a unit of 1 Warlock, you didn't really want to. They shine in this edition though.
Warlock Skyrunner
The same things I said for the Farseer Skyrunner are true here. Keeps your Saim-Hann command team thematic, and has great repositioning ability to get the powers where you want. Be careful not to over-extend them, as the extra Toughness and Wound the Jetbike gives them doesn't really help their survivability.
Again, they were strangely missing from 3rd Edition. And the subsequent "unit champion" option meant you could only really run them with other Jetbikes.
Warlock Conclave
Is your army thematically Ulthwe? Or did you just want a large group of Psykers? Here is the unit for you. The larger the unit, the more powers it can manifest and the better it's Smite is. At 35 points a model, with 2 wounds each, this seems like a really expensive unit for what it does. The same Psychic output can be found from 2-3 single Warlocks, and they can spread out further for greater coverage. I wouldn't recommend this., unless you miss the old days.
Those old days were the Seer Council that came in with 3rd Edition. Thematic for Ulthwe and powerful at the time. A unit that could give itself all of the buffs and hunt down opposing units for close combat. Was still expensive for that purpose though.
Warlock Skyrunner Conclave
The same as above, but faster. And therefore twice the points. Definitely a unit I wouldn't recommend. It's unfortunate because they are flavourful, but a few solo Warlock Skyrunners get the same job done at a much cheaper rate.
Great to accompany your Farseer Skyrunner in other editions. The mounted conclave hasn't really been much use outside of that, as Ulthwe Seer Councils are traditionally on foot (the Farseer is reportedly "far too old and proud to go racing round the skies!")
Spiritseer
There is only one option for Spiritseer. Essentially a Warlock with more wounds and the Spirit Mark ability to give re-roll hit rolls of 1 for nearby Spirit Host units. There are only 10 points more expensive too. While you can take them as more survivable Warlocks, they really shine when buffing your Spirit Host units.
The Craftworld supplement in 3rd Edition brought these in for the Iyanden Craftworld as enhanced Warlocks. They then became their own unit and spread to other Craftworlds.
Autarchs
The quintessential Warlord. Path of Command is better if this model is your Warlord, and thematically they tend to lead armies with Farseers as advisers. They buff the units around them, are decent in melee and when they are the Warlord regain you spent Command Points. They have lost a lot of their equipment options since the Index, but the 4 options for them are still quite flexible.
Prince Yriel
The Autarch for Iyanden. The Spear of Twilight is a decent weapon and the Cursed rule, which re-rolls 6s to save in the Fight phase, shouldn't be too much of a problem. He may not be worth the additional points of a regular Autarch, and has to take the Enduring Resolve Warlord Trait, which lets him deny 1 Psychic Power a turn. Not great, which is a shame for such a legendary character.
While he has long been in the lore as the exile that returned to save Iyanden from the Tyranids, it wasn't until 4th Edition that he got a model and stats. He has long been worse than the nameless Autarch due to the equipment options they had. 8th Edition has him at his best, though still not great unless you are taking him for flavour.
Autarch
The standard Autarch has lost a lot of it's upgrade options since the Index, a point that bears repeating if you have older models. Instead, it now has a Star Glaive, which is a Power Fist analogue. A weird choice, hopefully a new model can come with the parts and datasheet to restore it's old options. Still, a great choice for Warlord, though it is my second choice when building a more competitive army.
4th Edition introduced these guys. Their old ability of reserve manipulation has been removed, as it isn't needed in 8th.
Autarch with Swooping Hawk Wings
When you still have a model (and in fact are the default model available), you get to keep your equipment. The ability to start in Deep Strike Reserve, leave the Battlefield and redeploy, take a Fusion Pistol and dole out a mortal wound in combat. This is my choice as Warlord, because you can start off-table to avoid the enemy Alpha Strike and then come in Turn 1 and be exactly where you need Path of Command the most. Skyleap lets you redeploy or reach units that have extended far away from your main force.
An amalgamation of some of the options introduced in 4th Edition. I think the Autarch really shines in 8th Edition though. The Warp Spider Jump Generator option is missing, but still in the Index, so an FAQ would make that choice still valid.
Autarch Skyrunner
The Saim-Hann option. Can swap it's Power Sword for either a Fusion Gun or a Laser Lance. I recommend either the gun for Vehicle/Monster hunting. The Lance is good for flavour though. This model is great for bringing Path of Command to an all Jetbike army.
While his contemporaries arrived with 4th Edition, technically this model can be seen as the Saim-Hann Wild Rider Chieftain from the 3rd Edition Craftworld Supplement.
Illic Nightspear
While not an Autarch, it seems fitting to talk about him here. He is the anti-Autarch. Not great for leading an army (and keywords means he will only show up with Alaitoc), he is fantastic for sniping enemy command and support characters. 3 Damage on Voidbringer, and an additional mortal wound on a 6 to wound. At 80 points, he is also really cheap for this role.
Introduced in 6th Edition, is utility has waxed and waned. He is really good in this edition, as there are plenty of good targets for Voidbringer.
Phoenix Lords
The originators of the Aspect Warriors, and the Paths of the Asuryani themselves. They each have unique special rules, equipment and an ability that buffs nearby warriors of their Aspect. While they cannot benefit from your Craftworld Attribute, their presence in a Detachment doesn't remove it's ability. They have been around a long time, both in the lore and in the game, with ancient models to match.
Asurmen
The first, and for the longest time the best. He still is. A decent amount of shooting from his twin Avenger Shuriken Catapults, which Overwatch of 5s rather than 6s. The Sword of Asur is a great melee weapon, which does d3 additional mortal wounds on a 6+ to wound. This is rounded off by a solid invulnerable save and a buff that confers a 5+ invul save to nearby Aspect Warriors, 4+ if they are Dire Avengers.
Different editions have treated characters differently. And somehow Asurmen has always managed to be the best of the Phoenix Lords. Personal note - I won the Arena of Champions event with Asurmen in 3rd Edtion, defeating Asdrubel Vect in the final round.
Baharroth
He has a good assortment of weapons, and can easily get to wherever you want on the Battlefield. he also has 2 buffs. One increases the Leadership of nearby Aspect Warriors by 1, 2 if they are Swooping Hawks. The other lets nearby Hawks re-roll 1s to hit.
As will be a common trend, the Phoenix Lords haven't changed much over the years. They have simply adapted what they do to each rule set.
Fuegan
As always, the bane of Vehicles and Monsters. A Firepike and Melta bombs to counter their high Toughness and Wounds and the ability to re-roll 1s to wound against them. He and nearby Fire Dragons can re-roll hit rolls of a 1 for ranged attacks. He also gains +2 Strength and Attacks for the rest of the game after losing his first wound in the Fight Phase and has a 5+ feel no pain to ensure he stays a massive threat. All you need to do is get him to the targets, which is his one weakness.
In the lore, during the Rhana Dhandra, the final battle against Slaanesh, he will be the last to fall.
Jain Zar
Did you want a combat monster? Look no further. She is fast, can't be Overwatched, can Advance and Charge in the same turn. She gives opposing units -1 to hit her in the Fight Phase and can make an enemy weapon unusable for a turn. Put her with a group of Howling Banshees and they will always strike first in combat. Your opponent will learn to fear her presence.
She has long been a fearsome melee opponent.
Karandras
I think he is worse than Jain Zar. But only slightly, and that's a testament to how good she is. He does come with a Strength 8 Power Fist that doesn't subtract from his hit roll and the ability to do up to 4 mortal wounds at the start of the Fight Phase. Nearby Striking Scorpions get to make additional attacks if they roll any 6s to hit in melee. He really shines for Master of Stealth though, allowing him to arrive "late" to the battlefield and in perfect position to hunt any characters that aren't suitably bubble wrapped.
Tactical Advice - Leave him in Reserve until the start of the Third turn. Your opponent will be forced to keep units positioned so that he can't arrive, charge and kill their character. He can easily slay any Warlord short of a Primarch. If they don't give you an opening by the third turn, he can easily kill a squad of infantry so take down any remaining back-row threats instead.
Maugan Ra
The Grim Reaper. He has a longer ranged, more shot Shuriken Cannon with an optional fire mode that you probably will never use. He can also fire this twice in the Shooting Phase, always hitting on 2s and re-rolling 1s. He confers that re-roll to nearby Dark Reapers too. When fighting Chaos units, he can re-roll 1s to wound.
Strangely, he is the only Phoenix Lord with drastically different Wargear to his Aspect. This hasn't always been true, but in 8th Edition the Dark Reaper Exarch can't take a Shuriken Cannon.
And finally, I've saved the greatest til last...
Avatar of Khaine
Every Craftworld has one, and it's his stirring that leads them to larger wars. And in 8th Edition he has stats to match. While not on par with a Primarch, he is hard to kill for an Asuryani, made more so by the Avatar Resurgent Stratagem. Both in Shooting and Melee he does d6 damage per hit, rolling 2 dice and discarding the lowest. He has 8 wounds, and okay armour/invulnerable save and a 5+ feel no pain. But what makes him a true centrepiece is nearby Asuryani do not take Morale tests and re-roll Charge rolls. He will make a mess of anything you send him to fight, and survive a few turns doing so. He isn't unkillable though, so don't throw him at the bulk of your opponent's force. Having less than 10 wounds lets him hide at the centre of your army until it's time to release him. The one downside to him is if you make him the Warlord, he gets whichever Trait matches your Craftworld. Some are better for him than others.
2nd Edition he was truly a God of War. Powerful stats and Wailing Doom, combined with immunity to Plasma, Melta, Flamer, Gas, Poison, Virus and Blinding attacks. It took a similar level character or a lot of Lascannons to take him down. Strangely, in 3rd Edition he dropped to an 80 point Monstrous Creature. He lost his ranged attack, his save was awful. The only reason to take him was his cheapness. 4th Edition restored some of his status and 7th weirdly chose to make him a Lord of War rather than a HQ, without improving him and putting him into direct army role competition with the Wraithknight. He's had his ups and downs but is finally a force to be reckoned with again.
This brings us to the end of Part Four. Part Five will be the review of the Troops units, the backbone of any force.
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