Warhammer 40,000 Gladius - Relics of War is my least favorite of WH40K's games: a 61/100 review called it "a boring and predictable 4X strategy game that is reasonably relaxing but hardly challenging" and Warhammer 40 's overall ranking of all 40,000 games gave it a 25/39. However, Proxy Studios and Slitherine stuck with the game, releasing multiple DLC packages including Tyranids, Chaos Space Marine, and the T'au faction, with Craftworld's Aeldari joining the fray next week.

Craftworld's Aeldari bring 19 new "highly versatile" units to the game that are highly mobile and effective in both ranged and close combat. Their weakness is their relatively small numbers and slow growth rate, making it difficult for them to recover from losses. Slitherine states, "Aeldari lives are rare and precious, and losses will be felt heavily."

Not surprisingly, since this is Warhammer 40K, much lore also exists. For those who like that sort of thing, and just because it is a quality grimdark table setting, I will include the lore below:

Long ago, the Old Ones and the Necrons fought a war in the heavens. The Old Ones were defeated, but their mantle was passed down to one of their creations, the Aeldari. For the next several thousand years, they ruled the galaxy, falling into corruption and arrogance over time.

Their golden age came to an end with the birth of Slaanesh, the Chaos God of Pleasure. At the moment of her birth, the core of Aeldari civilization was completely destroyed, and even the souls and pantheons of its citizens were swallowed by the newborn god. Where the Aeldari home planet once stood, there is now only the Eye of Terror, a giant chasm into the warp. Only a few Aeldari survived. The stalwart Exodites, the decadent Dorcari and enigmatic Harlequins who lurk in the webways, and the restrained Aeldari in their giant ships called craftworlds.

The doomed and declining Aeldari try to avoid at all costs the devouring of themselves by the Slaanesh. On Gladius Prime, they will follow Farsia's prophecy that this planet holds the key to the survival of all Aeldari.

The Aeldari of the Craftworld also have their own mechanics: they use webway gates to move quickly across the battlefield, focus their spiritual awareness to increase their allegiance, move after using actions, and gain accuracy and damage bonuses when fighting the forces of chaos can be used. However, reflecting the fall of the city at the hands of Slaanesh, the city's growth rate has slowed, hampering income and unit production.

Warhammer 40,000 Gladius - Relics of War will take the Craftworld Aeldari into battle on November 12. More information about this faction can be found on Steam or slitherine.com, and for more lore, the Warhammer 40K Wiki.