Wraithlord

Eldar Portal

Wraithlord

Wraithlords (also known as Iron Knights, Wraith-Giants and Eldar Dreadnoughts)^[3] are giant Wraith-constructs made of wraithbone and inhabited by the souls of dead Eldar heroes. Towering far above their still-living brethren, the Wraithlord is a force to be reckoned with. Only the most capable warriors of the Craftworlds are encased inside them. They can be armed with a myriad of weapons, including close combat, short ranged and long ranged weaponry with the ability to smash most enemies in combat.

Overview

An Eldar Wraithlord^[4]

The creation of a Wraithlord involves empowering an Eldar Spirit Stone with the proper soul of an Eldar, plucked from the Infinity Circuit. The soul is then placed into the forehead of a Wraithlord chassis.^[2] Should the Wraithlord fall in battle, the Spirit Stone will be recovered and either be placed onto another Wraith construct, or be returned to the Infinity Circuit. Despite the fact that the Wraithlord exists in the real world, the spirit which controls it is never able to be as alert as those still alive, inhabiting a dimension both in the 'real' world and the warp at the same time. This phenomenon is known as 'Wraithsight', and can affect the Wraithlord in battle by making them slower to act and occasionally stopping them from acting at all.^[1a] As a result, a Spiritseer must remain in close proximity to Wraith constructs in order to guide their actions.^[1b]

Standard Wraithlord equipment include two Power fists, with flamers or Shuriken Cannons attached to the side. In addition, some Wraithlords are equipped with heavy armaments such as Scatter Lasers, missile launchers, Bright Lances and starcannons. Weaponry is often chosen to complement the soul of the spirit controlling the Wraithlord, as their predisposition towards different types of combat follows them beyond death - those who favoured close combat will still attempt to tear their enemies limb from limb or cleave foes with a massive Ghostglaive.^[7]

Famous Wraithlords

• Khiraen Goldhelm
• Toralven Gravesong
• Aethor
• Althenian Armourlost^[8]

Images

• 

  Wraithlord (4th edition)^[6]

• Wraithlord.png

  Eldar Dreadnought (1st edition)^[5]

• 

  Spirit-Warrior (1st Edition)

Trivia

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Eldar Dreadnought

Eldar Dreadnoughts

Eldar Dreadnoughts first appeared in White Dwarf 100 (UK), may 1988, pg.2. They are presented alongside Imperium and Orks Dreadnoughts and ; it is mentioned that Eldar craftsmen who operate these machines (The Development Of The Dreadnought, §4 pg 67) implying that they there is a pilot, who drives the machine trough "mind-impulse link", allowing him to control the dreadnought as if it were its own body. (Control Systems, § 1 pg 68).

Spirit-Warrior

Spirit-Warrior

Dreadnoughts were joined a month later White Dwarf 101 (UK), june 1988, pg 2, by the Spirit-Warrior, aka by its commercial name : Eldar War Robot. Similar in design to Eldar Dreadnoughts, the main difference is that they are controlled by an Infinity Circuit rather than a pilot (The Spirit-Warriors, pg 52 § 1), and they can use Psychic Power if the transferred Eldar spirit is that of a Seer (The Spirit-Warriors, pg 52 § 3)

Evolution toward the Wraithlord

The Spirit-Warrior miniature-design and rules didn't make it in Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition); however, the Eldar Dreadnought lore evolved (pg 77) : An Eldar Dreadnough contains the spirit of a dead Eldar warrior), adopting the construct design of the Spirit-Warrior, and its name was eventually changed to Wraithlord in Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition) (see pg 18).

Sources

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• 1: Codex: Eldar (4th Edition)
  • 1b: pg. 47
  • 1b: pg. 28
• 2: Fulgrim (Novel) by Graham McNeill, ^{[Needs Citation]}
• 3: Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pg. 21
• 4: Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition Rulebook, pg. 157
• 5: White Dwarf 236 (UK), pg. 84
• 6: Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition Rulebook (2012), pg. 275
• 7: Codex: Eldar (6th Edition) pg. 50 and 103
• 8: Valedor (Novel), Chapter Two

Uncited

• Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition)