Difference between revisions of "Howling Banshee"

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The '''Howling Banshees''' are an aspect focused on [[close combat]] made up primarily of female [[Eldar]]. The Howling Banshees are equipped with [[Shuriken Pistol|Shuriken Pistols]] and [[Power Weapon|Power Weapons]]. As Power Weapons can cleave through all but the strongest armour, the Banshees are very effective against well armoured opponents. They also wear a [[Banshee Mask]] that strikes fear into their foes, allowing them to strike with an advantage. They can deliver a devastating first strike, but if they get stuck in combat,then as with most Eldar, attrition will work against them. '''Howling Banshees''' [[Exarch]]s sometimes carry weapons known as [[Executioner|Executioners]] which boosts their strength. The [[Phoenix Lord]] of the Howling Banshees is [[Jain Zar]], the Storm of Silence.
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{{EldarPortal}}
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{{Clear}}
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{{Aspects
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|Rune Image=Bansheerune8th.jpg
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|Name=Howling Banshees
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|Phoenix Lord=[[Jain Zar]]
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|Phoenix Lord Title="The Storm of Silence"
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|Main Colours=Cream, Red, Green
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|Combat Speciality=Swift melee fighters
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}}
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'''Howling Banshees''' are one of the types of [[Eldar]] [[Aspect Warrior]] who represent a facet of the war god [[Kaela Mensha Khaine]], in their case the fury of the Murder God as well as the cunning of his daughters with [[Morai-Heg]], the [[Banshee]]s.{{Fn|7}} These lightly-equipped warriors are fearsome close combat specialists who draw their inspiration from the unearthly creature with which they share a name. What they may lack in brute strength they more than make up for in precision and efficiency, and their piercing warcry has signaled the doom of countless foes.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3a}}
  
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[[Category:Eldar]]
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==Overview==
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[[Image:HowlingBansheeColor.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Howling Banshees]]
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According to [[Eldar mythology]], [[Banshee]]s are the harbingers of woe and death whose cry, it is said, heralds ill fate, calling forth dead spirits from the [[Warp]] and forewarning certain death. A more sinister implication of the banshee's call is that it may even tempt spirits out from their [[Spirit Stone]] and thus lure them into the arms of [[Chaos]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|2}} Unique to the Howling Banshees is the fact that they are almost always female,{{Fn|Note 2}} for the banshee of legend is itself a female spirit.{{Fn|1a}}
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When [[Asurmen]] raised the first Aspect Warriors, he selected [[Jain Zar]] for her ferocity and speed, whereupon she became the first of the [[Phoenix Lords]]. Of all the Pheonix Lords she is the most devoted to her shrines, traveling the [[Webway]] to spread and nurture her teachings on all the large [[Craftworld]]s.{{Fn|1d}}
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==Wargear==
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[[Image:Banshee Wargear.png|thumb|right|200px|Howling Banshee wargear.{{Fn|8}}]]
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Fast and athletic, Howling Banshees are the most lightly equipped aspect{{Fn|14}} training emphasizes swiftness of foot and mobility in hand-to-hand combat. Their [[Aspect Armour]] is coloured bone-white contrasted with a flaming shock of orange hair, while their principle armament of [[Shuriken Pistol]] and [[Banshee Blade]] [[Power Weapon]] is a devastating combination in close combat. Their most notable weapon though is the [[Banshee Mask]], a powerful [[sonic weapon]] which uses a psychosonic amplifier to turn their battle cry into a howling shriek of psychic rage which attacks their enemies' central nervous system. An entire squad of Howling Banshees activating their masks all at once can cripple an entire enemy unit before a single blow is landed, leaving them paralyzed and helpless before their onslaught.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|3a}}
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==Howling Banshee Exarch==
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[[Image:HowlingBanshee2e.png|thumb|right|200px|Howling Banshee Exarch.{{Fn|12}}]]
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An [[Exarch]] is the leader of an Aspect Shrine. She is one that has traveled so far down the [[Path of the Warrior]] that she can no longer leave it and so dedicates herself fully as a high priest of Khaine. Exarchs wear more elaborate and ornate versions of Aspect armour which incorporate the spirits of past wearers, granting them not only wisdom and knowledge but a raw pool of psychic energy.{{Fn|1}} The Howling Banshee Exarch sits upon the "Storm Throne" within her [[Aspect Shrine]].{{Fn|15}}
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The Exarchs of the Howling Banshees emphasize their aspect to the highest levels and help pass this knowledge on to their squads. Under her guidance a squad of Howling Banshees are acrobatic warriors, leaping and bounding into combat with deadly grace, while the war shout of an Exarch is even more devastating than the normal piercing cry of a Banshee Mask{{Fn|3a}} Instead of a normal power weapon some Exarchs will wield an [[Executioner]] or [[Triskele]], while others will replace both power weapon and shuriken for [[Mirrorsword]]s.{{Fn|3b}}
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==Notable Appearances==
 +
[[File:Blood-of-the-Phoenix.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Jain Zar]] battles [[Drazhar]] with her Howling Banshees{{Fn|17}}]]
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In 838.[[M41]] in what became known as the [[Pyre of Kiliak's Bane]], [[Imperial]] [[xenologist]]s began to plunder buried Eldar artefacts on the [[Maiden World]] [[Kiliak]], bringing about a devastating assault from the nearby craftworlds of [[Biel-Tan]] and [[Ulthwé]]. A sighting of the [[Phoenix Lord]] [[Jain Zar]] accompanied by a hundred of her disciples was confirmed before the entire Imperial force was slaughtered and incinerated, their ashes scattered to the winds.{{Fn|4}}
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[[Jain Zar]] led the howling banshees in pursuit of [[Drazhar]] in the defence of [[Yvraine]].{{Fn|17}}
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==Notable Howling Banshees Shrines==
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[[Image:HBShrine.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Aspect shrine of the Howling Banshees{{Fn|10}}]]
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*[[Bloody Shriek Shrine]]
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*[[Crimson Scream Shrine]]
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*[[Crimson Witch Shrine]]
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*[[Deathly Wail Shrine]]
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*[[Dread Portent Shrine]]
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*[[Ebon Witch Shrine]]
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*[[Scarlet Daughters Shrine]]
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*[[Shrieking Blade Shrine]]
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*[[Shrine of the Song of Death]]
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*[[Wailing Bone Shrine]]
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*[[Woven Storm Shrine]]
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===Notable Howling Banshees===
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*[[Kalistri (Exarch)|Kalistri]] - [[Exarch]]
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*[[Mieqo]] - [[Exarch]]
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*[[Quitui'yenh]]{{Fn|17}}
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*[[Shiera]]{{Fn|9}}
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{{Clear}}
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==Images==
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<gallery mode="nolines" widths=250 heights=250>
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SWGnosis.jpg|A Howling Banshee Exarch fights [[Logan Grimnar]] in the [[Gnosis System]]{{Fn|13}}
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HowlingBansheeComic.jpg|Howling Banshee{{Fn|16}}
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File:BielTanBanshee.png|[[Biel-Tan]]i Howling Banshees{{Fn|18}}
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Wd127pg34-2.jpg|Howling Banshee{{Fn|14}}
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Howling Banshee by Mark Gibbons Codex Eldar (2nd Edition) pg51.jpg|Howling Banshee{{Fn|1c}}
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</gallery>
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{{Clear}}
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===Miniatures===
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<center>'''Howling Banshees'''</center>
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<gallery mode="nolines" widths=180 heights=180>
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HB 1990.jpg|Howling Banshees (1st Edition){{Fn|1b}}
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Banshee1.jpg|Howling Banshee (3rd Edition)
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HowlingBanshee1.jpg|Howling Banshee (4th Edition)
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HBMini.jpg|Howling Banshee (8th Edition){{Fn|5}}
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</gallery>
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<center>'''Howling Banshee Exarchs'''</center>
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<gallery mode="nolines" widths=180 heights=180>
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Gw-99060104017-0.jpg|Howling Banshee [[Exarch]] (1st Edition)
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Hbexarch3rd.jpg|Howling Banshee [[Exarch]] (3rd Edition)
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HBExarch.jpg|Howling Banshee [[Exarch]] (4th Edition)
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HBExarch2.jpg|Howling Banshee [[Exarch]] (8th Edition){{Fn|6}}
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</gallery>
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==Trivia==
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{{trivia}}
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===Notes===
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*{{Endn|Note 1}}: There is contradictory information on the father of the Howling Banshees. In some sources, for example in [[Wrath & Glory - Aeldari - Inheritance of Embers|Inheritance of Embers]], [[Kaela Mensha Khaine]] is stated as a father of the Howling Banshees,{{Fn|7}} where in [[White Dwarf February 2017]] their father named as [[Kaelis Vara’lanthian]], a poetic term for a death god yet to be that [[Eldrad]] took to mean [[Ynnead]].{{Fn|8}}
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*{{Endn|Note 2}}: Male Aeldari will sometimes take on the female form, in biology and identity, when becoming a Howling Banshee, similar to the changing process that [[Drukhari]] [[Succubus|Succubi]] and [[Incubus|Incubi]] use to fit the expected form of their roles.{{Fn|11}}
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==See also==
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*[[Aspect Warrior]]
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==Sources==
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*1: [[Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition)]]:
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**{{Endn|1a}}: pg. 9
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**{{Endn|1b}}: pg. 38
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**{{Endn|1c}}: pg. 51
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**{{Endn|1d}}: pg. 86
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*{{Endn|2}}: [[Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition)]], pg. 10
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*3: [[Codex: Eldar (4th Edition)]]:
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**{{Endn|3a}}: pg. 31
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**{{Endn|3b}}: pg. 63
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*{{Endn|4}}: [[Planetstrike]], pg. 55
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*{{Endn|5}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/08/29/breaking-news-sisters-psykers-and-skeletonsgw-homepage-post-4/  Warhammer Community: Breaking News: Sisters, Psykers and Skeletons (posted 29/08/2019)] ''(last accessed 29 August 2019)''
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*{{Endn|6}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/09/09/psychic-awakening-the-first-prophecygw-homepage-post-4/ Psychic Awakening: The First Prophecy… And an Exarch! (posted 09/09/2019)] ''(last accessed 14 September 2019)
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*{{Endn|7}}: [[Wrath & Glory - Aeldari - Inheritance of Embers]], pgs. 26-27 — ''Howling Banshee''
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*{{Endn|8}}: [[White Dwarf February 2017]] ''(e-book)'', pg. 62 — ''The Croneswords''
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*{{Endn|9}}: [[Warhammer 40,000 4th Edition Rulebook]], pg. 141
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*{{Endn|10}}: [[White Dwarf 511]], pg. 79
 +
*{{Endn|11}}: [[Da Big Dakka (Novel)]], Chapter 14
 +
*{{Endn|12}}: [[Codex Imperialis (Background Book)]], pg. 70
 +
*{{Endn|13}}: [[Champions of Fenris - A Codex: Space Wolves Supplement]] - ''Vengeance for Gnosis''
 +
*{{Endn|14}}: [[White Dwarf 127 (UK)]], pg. 34
 +
*{{Endn|15}}: [[Eldar Prophecy (Novel)]], Chapter Eight
 +
*{{Endn|16}}: [[Revelations (Comic Series)]], Issue #2
 +
*{{Endn|17}}: [[Blood of the Phoenix]], Cover
 +
*{{Endn|18}}: [[Epic: Swordwind]], pg. 66
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{{EldarUnits}}
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[[Category:Troops (Craftworld Eldar)]]
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[[de:Banshee (Aspektkrieger)]]
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[[fr:Banshee]]

Latest revision as of 18:57, 10 March 2026

Rune Symbol Basic Data
Bansheerune8th.jpg Name Howling Banshees
Phoenix Lord Jain Zar
Phoenix Lord Title "The Storm of Silence"
Main colours Cream, Red, Green
Combat Speciality Swift melee fighters

Howling Banshees are one of the types of Eldar Aspect Warrior who represent a facet of the war god Kaela Mensha Khaine, in their case the fury of the Murder God as well as the cunning of his daughters with Morai-Heg, the Banshees.[7] These lightly-equipped warriors are fearsome close combat specialists who draw their inspiration from the unearthly creature with which they share a name. What they may lack in brute strength they more than make up for in precision and efficiency, and their piercing warcry has signaled the doom of countless foes.[1a][2][3a]

Overview

Howling Banshees

According to Eldar mythology, Banshees are the harbingers of woe and death whose cry, it is said, heralds ill fate, calling forth dead spirits from the Warp and forewarning certain death. A more sinister implication of the banshee's call is that it may even tempt spirits out from their Spirit Stone and thus lure them into the arms of Chaos.[1a][2] Unique to the Howling Banshees is the fact that they are almost always female,[Note 2] for the banshee of legend is itself a female spirit.[1a]

When Asurmen raised the first Aspect Warriors, he selected Jain Zar for her ferocity and speed, whereupon she became the first of the Phoenix Lords. Of all the Pheonix Lords she is the most devoted to her shrines, traveling the Webway to spread and nurture her teachings on all the large Craftworlds.[1d]

Wargear

Howling Banshee wargear.[8]

Fast and athletic, Howling Banshees are the most lightly equipped aspect[14] training emphasizes swiftness of foot and mobility in hand-to-hand combat. Their Aspect Armour is coloured bone-white contrasted with a flaming shock of orange hair, while their principle armament of Shuriken Pistol and Banshee Blade Power Weapon is a devastating combination in close combat. Their most notable weapon though is the Banshee Mask, a powerful sonic weapon which uses a psychosonic amplifier to turn their battle cry into a howling shriek of psychic rage which attacks their enemies' central nervous system. An entire squad of Howling Banshees activating their masks all at once can cripple an entire enemy unit before a single blow is landed, leaving them paralyzed and helpless before their onslaught.[1a][3a]

Howling Banshee Exarch

Howling Banshee Exarch.[12]

An Exarch is the leader of an Aspect Shrine. She is one that has traveled so far down the Path of the Warrior that she can no longer leave it and so dedicates herself fully as a high priest of Khaine. Exarchs wear more elaborate and ornate versions of Aspect armour which incorporate the spirits of past wearers, granting them not only wisdom and knowledge but a raw pool of psychic energy.[1] The Howling Banshee Exarch sits upon the "Storm Throne" within her Aspect Shrine.[15]

The Exarchs of the Howling Banshees emphasize their aspect to the highest levels and help pass this knowledge on to their squads. Under her guidance a squad of Howling Banshees are acrobatic warriors, leaping and bounding into combat with deadly grace, while the war shout of an Exarch is even more devastating than the normal piercing cry of a Banshee Mask[3a] Instead of a normal power weapon some Exarchs will wield an Executioner or Triskele, while others will replace both power weapon and shuriken for Mirrorswords.[3b]

Notable Appearances

Jain Zar battles Drazhar with her Howling Banshees[17]

In 838.M41 in what became known as the Pyre of Kiliak's Bane, Imperial xenologists began to plunder buried Eldar artefacts on the Maiden World Kiliak, bringing about a devastating assault from the nearby craftworlds of Biel-Tan and Ulthwé. A sighting of the Phoenix Lord Jain Zar accompanied by a hundred of her disciples was confirmed before the entire Imperial force was slaughtered and incinerated, their ashes scattered to the winds.[4]

Jain Zar led the howling banshees in pursuit of Drazhar in the defence of Yvraine.[17]

Notable Howling Banshees Shrines

Aspect shrine of the Howling Banshees[10]

Notable Howling Banshees

Images

Miniatures

Howling Banshees

  • Howling Banshees (1st Edition)[1b]

  • Howling Banshee (3rd Edition)

  • Howling Banshee (4th Edition)

  • Howling Banshee (8th Edition)[5]

Howling Banshee Exarchs

  • Howling Banshee Exarch (1st Edition)

  • Howling Banshee Exarch (3rd Edition)

  • Howling Banshee Exarch (4th Edition)

  • Howling Banshee Exarch (8th Edition)[6]

Trivia

TriviaScrollTrans.png

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.

Notes

See also

Sources


Craftworld Eldar Forces
Command Autarchs • Bonesingers • Farseers • Spiritseers • Warlocks • Exarchs
Aspect Warriors
Troops Guardians (Guardian Defenders • Storm Guardians) • Windrider Squadrons • Rangers (Pathfinders • Shroud Runners) • Ghost-Warriors • Wraithguard • Wraithblades
Support Weapons Grav Platform • Support Battery • War Walker
Constructs Avatar of Khaine • Wraithknight • Wraithlord
Special Characters Amallyn Shadowguide • Eldrad Ulthran • Illic Nightspear • Iyanna Arienal • Nuadhu 'Fireheart' • Yriel
Phoenix Lords Asurmen • Baharroth • Drastanta • Fuegan • Irillyth • Jain Zar • Karandras • Lhykhis • Maugan Ra
Fortifications Webway Gate
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